The amount Medicare pays for each appointment does not cover the costs of running a medical practice.  These costs include staff wages, medical and IT equipment, rent and utilities all of which have increased significantly over the last few years.

The introduction of mixed billing will help keep the practice sustainable in the long run.

For in-person visits, your Medicare rebate can be processed in one of three ways:

1. If you have a physical savings or cheque card, an instant Medicare rebate can be claimed at the time of payment. This method of rebate is only available for consultations, and not for procedures.
2. If you do not have a physical savings card and your Medicare account is linked to your personal bank account, we can send an online claim to Medicare on your behalf.  Your rebate should generally be paid to your account within 72 hours.  If you need to check or change your bank account details, please visit Medicare online via myGov, or use the Express Plus Medicare mobile app.
3. If you want to claim the rebate yourself, upload a copy of the payment invoice via the Medicare online portal, or use the Express Plus Medicare mobile app.

For telephone and video consultations, we recommend you check your Medicare account within 72 hours of payment, and upload a copy of the payment invoice if your rebate has not been processed.  Payment invoices are automatically emailed upon payment.

We will continue to bulk bill all consultations for the following patients who hold a Medicare card:

• All children 15 years of age and under
• All patients 70 years of age and over
• Patients with a Centrelink Concession Card, Pensioner Concession Card or Commonwealth Seniors Health Care Card
• Veterans with a Department of Veterans Affairs (DVA) white or gold card
• Aboriginal and Torres Straight Islander patients

Additionally, we will continue to bulk bill the following types of consultations for all patients, regardless of age:

• GP management plans (also known as Care plans)
• GP management plan reviews (Care plan review)
• GP Mental health care plans
• GP Mental health care plan reviews
• Health assessments

Like most GPs, most of our doctors work as independent contractors, and they pay the practice a service fee.  The practice relies on the service fees from doctors for the majority of its income which is then used to pay staff (e.g. receptionists, nurses), rent, medical equipment, building costs, utilities, computers etc.

No, children 16 years and over will be charged the usual fee unless they hold a valid concession card.

For children under 16, the federal government pays a ‘bulk billing incentive’ which is an extra payment on top of the standard Medicare fee. This extra funding will allow us to bulk bill children under 16 years of age.

A GP Management plan (commonly known as a Care plan) is a plan of action for people with chronic and complex care needs.  Common conditions which may require a care plan include but are not limited to:

• Diabetes
• Heart disease
• Severe asthma and lung disease
• Thyroid disease
• Autoimmune conditions (eg. Rheumatoid arthritis, inflammatory bowel disease, coeliac disease)
• Other medical conditions requiring regular visits with the GP and multiple specialists

If you’re unsure that you are eligible for a care plan, please speak with your doctor.

Care plan appointments are for people with chronic and complex conditions. New care plans should be done every 1-2 years and typically take 30-45 minutes and include a nurse and a doctor (and sometimes a clinical pharmacist). They involve setting health goals, and planning tasks (e.g. Pathology tests, specialist and allied health reviews, attending to preventative health checks). These appointments can also be used to organise routine care including referrals and scripts.

Care plan review appointments give an opportunity for you and your doctor to check that your chronic health condition is being managed well and your health goals are being met. They can also be used to organise routine care including scripts and referrals. Care plan reviews can only be done once every 3 months.

Care plans and care plan review appointments will be bulk billed for all patients, if eligible.

A mental health care plan is an agreed plan of action with you and your GP to manage a mental health condition your GP or other mental health professional has diagnosed. If you have a valid mental health care plan, you can access Medicare rebated psychology visits.

These GP visits will be bulk billed and typically take 30-45 minutes.  A mental health care plan review is a planned appointment which can be used to access further Medicare rebated psychology visits.

No, appointments with nurses alone do not incur an out-of-pocket fee. Examples of nurse only consultations include:

• Vaccination administration
• Simple wound dressings
• Routine removal of sutures
• Routine administration of injections (eg. B12, Prolia,immunotherapy, other medications)

Yes, procedures including skin excisions and iron infusions will incur a private fee for all patients.