Medicare patient rebates remain inadequate
The Government has again failed to increase Medicare Benefits Schedule (MBS) patient rebates sufficiently to reflect the real cost of providing high quality medical care to the Australian community.
From 1 November, the MBS patient rebate for a standard GP consultation will increase by just 70 cents to $35.60.
AMA President, Dr Steve Hambleton, said today that proper and realistic indexation of Medicare patient rebates is urgently needed.
“Inadequate or no MBS indexation, along with threatened cuts to some MBS fees (Better Access mental health services) and the withdrawal of MBS funding for other services (for example, joint injections) mean that the Government is simply shifting costs to patients.
“Families will have to pay more every time they visit the doctor.
“This sends a bad signal to general practice at a time when the Government is attempting to promote positive messages about its primary health reform agenda.
“It comes on top of the Budget cuts to GP mental health services and the mismanaged GP Super Clinics Program.”
The overall Medicare fee increase of just two per cent is inadequate when compared with the Labour Price Index of 3.94 per cent and CPI of 3.18 per cent.
The Labour Price Index (3.94 per cent) and CPI (3.18 per cent) have been calculated for the AMA by Kilham Consulting based on actual data for the three quarters, December 2010 to June 2011, and a forecast for the September 2011 quarter.
The AMA List of Medical Services and Fees reflects these more realistic indices. As a result, AMA recommended fees this year have been indexed on average by 3.2 per cent.
The new AMA recommended fee for a standard GP consultation will be $69, up $3 from $66 in 2010.
The AMA is also concerned that all Nurse Practitioner MBS items have been indexed, while MBS items for Other Medical Practitioners (OMPs), usually non-Vocationally Registered GPs (non-VRs), have not.
This means that the MBS fee for a 30-minute consultation with a Nurse Practitioner ($39) is higher than the MBS fee for the same consultation with a qualified medical practitioner ($38).
Dr Hambleton said that the difference between the MBS and the AMA fees is the result of a long history of MBS indexation lagging well behind the cost of delivering high quality patient care. The time that doctors spend managing patient care after the patient has left the surgery is not accounted for in the MBS fees.
“This year’s inadequate MBS indexation has widened the gap.
“Practice costs including employing practice staff, and operating expenses such as rent, electricity, computers, accreditation, and professional insurance must all be met from the single fee charged by the doctor.”
The AMA List of Medical Services and Fees provides guidance to AMA members when setting their fees, based on their own practice cost experience.
The 2011 MBS indexation is two per cent. However, pathology, diagnostic imaging, and other medical practitioner fees have not been indexed. Therefore, the total indexation is actually much lower.
13 October 2011
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