Month: July 2025

What will the new bulk billing incentives mean for consumers?

Posted on July 29, 2025

What will the new bulk billing incentives mean for consumers?

Cleanbill have released a report that forecasts what they believe will be the impact of the incoming Medicare bulk billing incentives.

From 1 November there will be increased Medicare rebates available to GPs who bulk bill all of their patients. This initiative was designed to increase the rates of bulk billing and make affordable primary care more accessible for all patients. The government announced that they forecast that about 80% of practices would end up being fully bulk billing practices as a result of these changes. This report questions this modelling and suggests that the increases in the number of bulk billing practices may be more modest than consumers and the government were hoping for.

According to the data that Cleanbill uses, right now in WA only 42 practices, or just under 7% of practices are entirely bulk billing practices, which means they bulk bill every patient, not just those who are eligible for concessions.

Cleanbill’s modelling suggests WA can expect a doubling of fully bulk billing practices, which may sound terrific, but given that we are coming off a pretty low base it’s not as much of a game-changer as we might have hoped. This would see 85 fully bulk billing practices in WA bringing the rate of practices bulk billing to close to 14%.

Currently across the country, Cleanbill estimates that just over 21% of practices are fully bulk billing. With the incentives being introduced in November, their modelling suggests that there will be 740 additional bulk billing clinics across the country, bringing the percentage of clinics who bulk bill to over 33%. The largest increases are forecast to be in Victoria and New South Wales.

The report goes on to model bulk billing rates if the bulk billing incentives were 10%, 20% and 30% higher than those that are being implemented in November. Unsurprisingly, this comparison shows that if the incentives were increased, we could expect considerably more practices to become fully bulk billing. The modelling shows that if incentives were 30% higher than those being proposed, then nearly 82% of WA practices would fully bulk bill which reflects the forecast national figures.

Primary healthcare is the foundation of good health for individuals and a well-functioning health system for everyone. Here at HCCWA we want to see quality primary health care that is accessible and affordable for everyone, and we hope that increased bulk billing incentives see more people being able to see their GP without cost being a barrier.

Consumers’ Health Forum are a federal health advocacy body who undertake extensive systemic advocacy on Medicare issues and like us, they will continue to closely monitor the impact of the new incentives.

When considering this data it is worth knowing that Cleanbill are not a research institute or a Think Tank, they are not connected to a not for profit group and nor are they a government initiative. Rather, Cleanbill is a practice listings business where practices can pay to have their information available. Cleanbill list all practices and their fees, including those who have not paid for a listing, but the accuracy of their information is unclear, as many practices are unaware of the listing and therefore do not have the chance to update or correct their information.

For this reason, we consider this information to be interesting and potentially useful, but it is important that it is viewed through the appropriate lens.

Bronwyn Ife  |  Systemic Advocacy and Engagement Lead

Media enquiries: 0488 701 839 | info@hconc.org.au

Listening and learning in the East Kimberley

Posted on July 28, 2025

 

At Health Consumers’ Council WA, we’re committed to representing the voices of health consumers across our vast state. So this month, Tania Harris and I travelled to the East Kimberley to connect with community members, health service providers, and local leaders about what matters most when it comes to healthcare in the region.

We joined the WACHS Kununurra Hospital team at the local agricultural show — a vibrant community event that gave us the chance to hear directly from locals. We also had the privilege of meeting with services doing vital work, including the Wyndham Aboriginal Youth Corporation, where Neville and his team are helping young people craft strong, purposeful futures. We met with the Nurse Partnership Program about their work supporting new mums on their journey through early motherhood, including the role of peer workers, to support people to have the best start in life. We also met the team at Kimberley Legal Service where we heard about their innovative program that combines legal support with social work support to provide a holistic service.

It was great to hear about the many strengths in the region — including the deep relationships between local health services — we also heard about the ongoing challenges for people in the region when accessing healthcare. For many, this can mean long trips to Perth, navigating unfamiliar hospital environments, far from family and Country. Many of us know how important the support is from family or loved ones to our healing and healthcare experience.

This visit reminded us once again how critical it is that regional voices are heard in state-level decisions. We remain committed to amplifying those voices as we advocate to health leaders across WA.

To those already speaking up — as consumer reps, members of District Health Advisory Councils, or community advocates — thank you. Your insights guide our work. Please reach out if there’s more we can do to support you.

Clare Mullen  |  Executive Director

Media enquiries: 0488 701 839 | info@hconc.org.au

Your voice at the table: HCCWA’s recent ministerial meetings

Posted on July 23, 2025

Clare Mullen speaks about the Healthcare Consumers' Council

Building strong partnerships with WA’s new Ministerial team

Over the past few weeks, we have been busy meeting with the new ministerial team and their advisers. These meetings have been a great opportunity to share the experiences and priorities of health consumers across Western Australia. We’re pleased to report that the response from ministers and their teams has been very positive and encouraging.

Why these conversations matter
In all our discussions, Ministers and their advisers were genuinely interested in hearing about the diverse experiences of health consumers — the people who use health services every day. It’s clear that while many lobby groups approach government, our unique focus on the lived experiences of health consumers stands out as vital and valued.

Key highlights from our meetings

  • Making healthcare fair
    In our discussions with all the ministers and their teams, we discussed how consumers deserve healthcare that is fair for all. This includes

    • access to independent advocacy support to reduce harm and level the playing field if things go wrong
    • particular efforts to ensure that the concerns and interests of Aboriginal people, people from multicultural backgrounds, and people with intellectual disability are heard and not dismissed in healthcare settings
    • addressing the financial barriers to healthcare like expensive hospital parking fees.

 

  • Preventative health and system sustainability
    In our discussions with Minister Hammat – Minister for Health and Mental Health – and with Minister Winton’s team (Minister for Preventative Health) we talked about how health consumers and community members would like to see the commitment to increased investment in preventative health delivered on, noting it is a priority highlighted in the Sustainable Health Review. We also shared how critical it is for consumers to be involved at every level of decision-making, particularly as our health system evolves and faces workforce challenges. We recognised the strong work happening in some parts of WA health services to ensure consumer perspectives are understood from Board to bedside – and that there are more opportunities to build on these strong foundations.
  • Addressing the social determinants of health and weight stigma
    Our meeting with Minister Winton’s team reaffirmed their strong understanding of the social determinants of health and their commitment to preventive strategies.  We also commended Minister Carey for his action on increasing access to social housing. We shared updates from the WELL Collaborative (Weight Education, Lifestyle Leadership) — a partnership focused on improving health outcomes and experiences for people impacted by overweight and obesity that HCC has been involved in since 2018.
  • Consumer leadership in major projects
    With Minister Carey – Minister for Health Infrastructure, a new portfolio – we discussed the success of having consumer leadership embedded in the Women and Babies Hospital project. This approach ensures that consumer perspectives are integrated early and meaningfully in major developments. We encouraged that this approach be considered for all major infrastructure activities. We heard that work is underway to streamline and standardise consultation processes on these activities and we will continue to advocate for consumer representatives at every stage – including before ideas are generated, as well as being consulted on outcomes.
  • Health Research and Consumer Involvement
    With Minister Dawson’s office, we advocated for continued consumer involvement in medical research planning, decision-making, and the communication of research outcomes. We discussed how bringing researchers, practitioners, and consumers together can accelerate the translation of research into the real-world applications that consumers are keen see.
  • Aged Care and Community Models
    In our conversation with Minister McGurk – Minister for Aged Care and Women – we emphasised the need for strong support for older people — whether staying well at home or transitioning to aged care. We also discussed the value of community connector models, which help people navigate complex systems. The Minister had a good knowledge of these as she’d been involved in helping to establish a similar model aimed at supporting children in out of home care access essential healthcare.

Looking ahead
These meetings were a great opportunity for us to ensure that the new ministerial team and their advisers understand the importance of health consumer perspectives and how they can help to cut through the vested interests that exist in healthcare. It’s clear that WA’s new ministerial team values the voices of health consumers and is keen to hear about the real-world experiences of those accessing – or trying to access – care.

We look forward to building on these strong foundations to ensure that consumer perspectives remain central in shaping health policies and services.

Clare Mullen, Executive Director