Mark Butler (Hindmarsh, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Health and Aged Care) Share this | Hansard source

I think what I was saying before was that yes, from the time we came to government, I'd been saying that I was deeply concerned about bulk-billing rates, particularly for GP consults, because they were in freefall. If you asked any doctor or any doctor's group for the reason, they said it was that Medicare rebates had been frozen for six long years, initially by the worst health minister in Australia's history, now the Leader of the Opposition, and also a freeze continued by the second-worst health minister in Australian history, now the Deputy Leader of the Opposition.

On Tuesday night we introduced the second-biggest increase to the Medicare rebate across the board in the last 30 years. The biggest increase to the Medicare rebate in the last 30 years was last year. Over just two years we've increased the Medicare rebate by twice as much as those opposite managed in nine long years. So yes, I've been very honest about the fact that, from the time I came to office as the health minister and had the privilege of being appointed to the portfolio by the Prime Minister, bulk-billing has been in decline. Doctors could not hang on any longer after the freeze imposed by those opposite. They made no bones about that. And I published much more transparent data about bulk-billing than was published by those opposite—very clear data about GP NRAs and bulk-billing rates by state, nationally and by electorate, and I'm sure the member for Farrer has examined that.

What I will say, though, is that, after our bulk-billing incentives took effect on 1 November, the bulk-billing rate has started to climb again. Since that date, 1 November, there have been 950,000 additional free visits to the doctor. The bulk-billing rate has increased by over two per cent in just five months. So yes, there's much more work to do, but we've started fixing the mess that was started by the Leader of the Opposition and continued by the Deputy Leader of the Opposition—the two worst health minister is in the Medicare era.

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