Aussie patients facing new $20 fee for short GP visits
Patients will be hit with an extra $20 in costs for short GP visits. (AAP)
Australians are set to be hit with a $20 fee to visit their GP under new changes to Medicare being introduced next week.
Under the Abbott government policy, Medicare will pay $20.10 less for consultations lasting less than 10 minutes, Fairfax Media reports.
In previous years, Medicare has paid $37.05 for short visits, slashed to just $19.95 from January 19.
Patients’ out of pocket costs or “gap fee” will subsequently rise.
The move is also expected to increase waiting times at the doctors, with consultations set to drag out to avoid the fee.
The Australian Medical Association said while doctors who continue to bulk bill will absorb the charges, some patients who would otherwise receive free care may now have to pay.
"This change alone will kill off a lot of bulk-billing," Dr Michael Levick told Fairfax Media.
"This is a very sly way of cutting the budget."
The move, aimed at slashing the health budget, comes after Prime Minister Tony Abbott scrapped the controversial $7 co-payment proposed in the federal budget.
A little over a quarter of the 134 million GP visits billed to Medicare last financial year were under 10 minutes.
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