❓ The Minister for Health addresses the impact of declining GP bulk-billing rates on WA families and the public health system, highlighting increased pressure on hospitals and disadvantaged communities, particularly in the Peel electorate. The Minister criticises the federal government's handling of the issue and calls for collaborative action.
AnsweredQoN 364Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
Will the minister explain to the House the impact the steady decline in general practitioner bulk-billing rates is having on Western Australian families and the public health system generally? Mr R.C. KUCERA
AnswerView source ↗
I thank the member for Peel for his concern in this area. He might well be concerned as his electorate is one of those on which this issue is impacting greatly. It was interesting to note the comments of the member for Murdoch in an earlier question about the pressure on our hospitals. There is no doubt about that at all. It is now acknowledged by even the federal Government that this is absolutely catastrophic. Under John Howard there has been a catastrophic slide in GP bulk-billing rates; in fact, there has been a 10 per cent decline since he took office. To make the situation worse, the payments made by patients - Mr M.F. Board interjected. Mr R.C. KUCERA: Those patients who access bulk-billing are not the people who take heed of the 30 per cent private health insurance rebate or who use the doctors surgeries along Stirling Highway; they are the battlers who use the hospitals and the doctors in the electorate of the member for Peel. That is why we have a bulk-billing system. The figures are staggering. Payments made by patients to non-bulk-billing GPs have risen by 50 per cent. That is where the Opposition’s 30 per cent rebate has gone. In the past year alone the number of bulk-billed GP services in Western Australia declined by a staggering 317 000. The decline has huge ramifications for families, particularly those in the Rockingham area, and the most disadvantaged in our community. People cannot afford to see or cannot find a doctor. It is as simple as that. This has put basic health care out of reach. In the federal seat of Brand, bulk-billing rates have dropped from 82.4 per cent in 1999-2000 to a low of 68 per cent. This decline is placing increasing pressure on our emergency departments and public hospitals. This is not about blaming people. Even the federal Government now acknowledges that the system is in decline. Seventy per cent of the presentations at the Rockingham-Kwinana District Hospital - in the electorate of the member for Peel - are by people who would ordinarily be treated by a bulk-billing GP; yet, members opposite ask what impact this has on the public hospital system. The Commonwealth can no longer ignore this situation. This is not about blaming people but about coming together and making sure that we raise this issue with the Commonwealth. This is on the agenda of Friday’s meeting of health ministers. I will raise this issue with all the ministers, including the federal minister. They cannot ignore this decline - this catastrophe - any longer. The federal Government must lift its game on this issue.
Mr R.C. KUCERA replied: I thank the member for Peel for his concern in this area. He might well be concerned as his electorate is one of those on which this issue is impacting greatly. It was interesting to note the comments of the member for Murdoch in an earlier question about the pressure on our hospitals. There is no doubt about that at all. It is now acknowledged by even the federal Government that this is absolutely catastrophic. Under John Howard there has been a catastrophic slide in GP bulk-billing rates; in fact, there has been a 10 per cent decline since he took office. To make the situation worse, the payments made by patients - Mr M.F. Board interjected. Mr R.C. KUCERA: Those patients who access bulk-billing are not the people who take heed of the 30 per cent private health insurance rebate or who use the doctors surgeries along Stirling Highway; they are the battlers who use the hospitals and the doctors in the electorate of the member for Peel. That is why we have a bulk-billing system. The figures are staggering. Payments made by patients to non-bulk-billing GPs have risen by 50 per cent. That is where the Opposition’s 30 per cent rebate has gone. In the past year alone the number of bulk-billed GP services in Western Australia declined by a staggering 317 000. The decline has huge ramifications for families, particularly those in the Rockingham area, and the most disadvantaged in our community. People cannot afford to see or cannot find a doctor. It is as simple as that. This has put basic health care out of reach. In the federal seat of Brand, bulk-billing rates have dropped from 82.4 per cent in 1999-2000 to a low of 68 per cent. This decline is placing increasing pressure on our emergency departments and public hospitals. This is not about blaming people. Even the federal Government now acknowledges that the system is in decline. Seventy per cent of the presentations at the Rockingham-Kwinana District Hospital - in the electorate of the member for Peel - are by people who would ordinarily be treated by a bulk-billing GP; yet, members opposite ask what impact this has on the public hospital system. The Commonwealth can no longer ignore this situation. This is not about blaming people but about coming together and making sure that we raise this issue with the Commonwealth. This is on the agenda of Friday’s meeting of health ministers. I will raise this issue with all the ministers, including the federal minister. They cannot ignore this decline - this catastrophe - any longer. The federal Government must lift its game on this issue.
I thank the member for Peel for his concern in this area. He might well be concerned as his electorate is one of those on which this issue is impacting greatly. It was interesting to note the comments of the member for Murdoch in an earlier question about the pressure on our hospitals. There is no doubt about that at all. It is now acknowledged by even the federal Government that this is absolutely catastrophic. Under John Howard there has been a catastrophic slide in GP bulk-billing rates; in fact, there has been a 10 per cent decline since he took office. To make the situation worse, the payments made by patients - Mr M.F. Board interjected. Mr R.C. KUCERA: Those patients who access bulk-billing are not the people who take heed of the 30 per cent private health insurance rebate or who use the doctors surgeries along Stirling Highway; they are the battlers who use the hospitals and the doctors in the electorate of the member for Peel. That is why we have a bulk-billing system. The figures are staggering. Payments made by patients to non-bulk-billing GPs have risen by 50 per cent. That is where the Opposition’s 30 per cent rebate has gone. In the past year alone the number of bulk-billed GP services in Western Australia declined by a staggering 317 000. The decline has huge ramifications for families, particularly those in the Rockingham area, and the most disadvantaged in our community. People cannot afford to see or cannot find a doctor. It is as simple as that. This has put basic health care out of reach. In the federal seat of Brand, bulk-billing rates have dropped from 82.4 per cent in 1999-2000 to a low of 68 per cent. This decline is placing increasing pressure on our emergency departments and public hospitals. This is not about blaming people. Even the federal Government now acknowledges that the system is in decline. Seventy per cent of the presentations at the Rockingham-Kwinana District Hospital - in the electorate of the member for Peel - are by people who would ordinarily be treated by a bulk-billing GP; yet, members opposite ask what impact this has on the public hospital system. The Commonwealth can no longer ignore this situation. This is not about blaming people but about coming together and making sure that we raise this issue with the Commonwealth. This is on the agenda of Friday’s meeting of health ministers. I will raise this issue with all the ministers, including the federal minister. They cannot ignore this decline - this catastrophe - any longer. The federal Government must lift its game on this issue.
Mr M.F. Board interjected. Mr R.C. KUCERA: Those patients who access bulk-billing are not the people who take heed of the 30 per cent private health insurance rebate or who use the doctors surgeries along Stirling Highway; they are the battlers who use the hospitals and the doctors in the electorate of the member for Peel. That is why we have a bulk-billing system. The figures are staggering. Payments made by patients to non-bulk-billing GPs have risen by 50 per cent. That is where the Opposition’s 30 per cent rebate has gone. In the past year alone the number of bulk-billed GP services in Western Australia declined by a staggering 317 000. The decline has huge ramifications for families, particularly those in the Rockingham area, and the most disadvantaged in our community. People cannot afford to see or cannot find a doctor. It is as simple as that. This has put basic health care out of reach. In the federal seat of Brand, bulk-billing rates have dropped from 82.4 per cent in 1999-2000 to a low of 68 per cent. This decline is placing increasing pressure on our emergency departments and public hospitals. This is not about blaming people. Even the federal Government now acknowledges that the system is in decline. Seventy per cent of the presentations at the Rockingham-Kwinana District Hospital - in the electorate of the member for Peel - are by people who would ordinarily be treated by a bulk-billing GP; yet, members opposite ask what impact this has on the public hospital system. The Commonwealth can no longer ignore this situation. This is not about blaming people but about coming together and making sure that we raise this issue with the Commonwealth. This is on the agenda of Friday’s meeting of health ministers. I will raise this issue with all the ministers, including the federal minister. They cannot ignore this decline - this catastrophe - any longer. The federal Government must lift its game on this issue.
Mr R.C. KUCERA: Those patients who access bulk-billing are not the people who take heed of the 30 per cent private health insurance rebate or who use the doctors surgeries along Stirling Highway; they are the battlers who use the hospitals and the doctors in the electorate of the member for Peel. That is why we have a bulk-billing system. The figures are staggering. Payments made by patients to non-bulk-billing GPs have risen by 50 per cent. That is where the Opposition’s 30 per cent rebate has gone. In the past year alone the number of bulk-billed GP services in Western Australia declined by a staggering 317 000. The decline has huge ramifications for families, particularly those in the Rockingham area, and the most disadvantaged in our community. People cannot afford to see or cannot find a doctor. It is as simple as that. This has put basic health care out of reach. In the federal seat of Brand, bulk-billing rates have dropped from 82.4 per cent in 1999-2000 to a low of 68 per cent. This decline is placing increasing pressure on our emergency departments and public hospitals. This is not about blaming people. Even the federal Government now acknowledges that the system is in decline. Seventy per cent of the presentations at the Rockingham-Kwinana District Hospital - in the electorate of the member for Peel - are by people who would ordinarily be treated by a bulk-billing GP; yet, members opposite ask what impact this has on the public hospital system. The Commonwealth can no longer ignore this situation. This is not about blaming people but about coming together and making sure that we raise this issue with the Commonwealth. This is on the agenda of Friday’s meeting of health ministers. I will raise this issue with all the ministers, including the federal minister. They cannot ignore this decline - this catastrophe - any longer. The federal Government must lift its game on this issue.
Mr R.C. KUCERA replied: I thank the member for Peel for his concern in this area. He might well be concerned as his electorate is one of those on which this issue is impacting greatly. It was interesting to note the comments of the member for Murdoch in an earlier question about the pressure on our hospitals. There is no doubt about that at all. It is now acknowledged by even the federal Government that this is absolutely catastrophic. Under John Howard there has been a catastrophic slide in GP bulk-billing rates; in fact, there has been a 10 per cent decline since he took office. To make the situation worse, the payments made by patients - Mr M.F. Board interjected. Mr R.C. KUCERA: Those patients who access bulk-billing are not the people who take heed of the 30 per cent private health insurance rebate or who use the doctors surgeries along Stirling Highway; they are the battlers who use the hospitals and the doctors in the electorate of the member for Peel. That is why we have a bulk-billing system. The figures are staggering. Payments made by patients to non-bulk-billing GPs have risen by 50 per cent. That is where the Opposition’s 30 per cent rebate has gone. In the past year alone the number of bulk-billed GP services in Western Australia declined by a staggering 317 000. The decline has huge ramifications for families, particularly those in the Rockingham area, and the most disadvantaged in our community. People cannot afford to see or cannot find a doctor. It is as simple as that. This has put basic health care out of reach. In the federal seat of Brand, bulk-billing rates have dropped from 82.4 per cent in 1999-2000 to a low of 68 per cent. This decline is placing increasing pressure on our emergency departments and public hospitals. This is not about blaming people. Even the federal Government now acknowledges that the system is in decline. Seventy per cent of the presentations at the Rockingham-Kwinana District Hospital - in the electorate of the member for Peel - are by people who would ordinarily be treated by a bulk-billing GP; yet, members opposite ask what impact this has on the public hospital system. The Commonwealth can no longer ignore this situation. This is not about blaming people but about coming together and making sure that we raise this issue with the Commonwealth. This is on the agenda of Friday’s meeting of health ministers. I will raise this issue with all the ministers, including the federal minister. They cannot ignore this decline - this catastrophe - any longer. The federal Government must lift its game on this issue.
I thank the member for Peel for his concern in this area. He might well be concerned as his electorate is one of those on which this issue is impacting greatly. It was interesting to note the comments of the member for Murdoch in an earlier question about the pressure on our hospitals. There is no doubt about that at all. It is now acknowledged by even the federal Government that this is absolutely catastrophic. Under John Howard there has been a catastrophic slide in GP bulk-billing rates; in fact, there has been a 10 per cent decline since he took office. To make the situation worse, the payments made by patients - Mr M.F. Board interjected. Mr R.C. KUCERA: Those patients who access bulk-billing are not the people who take heed of the 30 per cent private health insurance rebate or who use the doctors surgeries along Stirling Highway; they are the battlers who use the hospitals and the doctors in the electorate of the member for Peel. That is why we have a bulk-billing system. The figures are staggering. Payments made by patients to non-bulk-billing GPs have risen by 50 per cent. That is where the Opposition’s 30 per cent rebate has gone. In the past year alone the number of bulk-billed GP services in Western Australia declined by a staggering 317 000. The decline has huge ramifications for families, particularly those in the Rockingham area, and the most disadvantaged in our community. People cannot afford to see or cannot find a doctor. It is as simple as that. This has put basic health care out of reach. In the federal seat of Brand, bulk-billing rates have dropped from 82.4 per cent in 1999-2000 to a low of 68 per cent. This decline is placing increasing pressure on our emergency departments and public hospitals. This is not about blaming people. Even the federal Government now acknowledges that the system is in decline. Seventy per cent of the presentations at the Rockingham-Kwinana District Hospital - in the electorate of the member for Peel - are by people who would ordinarily be treated by a bulk-billing GP; yet, members opposite ask what impact this has on the public hospital system. The Commonwealth can no longer ignore this situation. This is not about blaming people but about coming together and making sure that we raise this issue with the Commonwealth. This is on the agenda of Friday’s meeting of health ministers. I will raise this issue with all the ministers, including the federal minister. They cannot ignore this decline - this catastrophe - any longer. The federal Government must lift its game on this issue.
Mr M.F. Board interjected. Mr R.C. KUCERA: Those patients who access bulk-billing are not the people who take heed of the 30 per cent private health insurance rebate or who use the doctors surgeries along Stirling Highway; they are the battlers who use the hospitals and the doctors in the electorate of the member for Peel. That is why we have a bulk-billing system. The figures are staggering. Payments made by patients to non-bulk-billing GPs have risen by 50 per cent. That is where the Opposition’s 30 per cent rebate has gone. In the past year alone the number of bulk-billed GP services in Western Australia declined by a staggering 317 000. The decline has huge ramifications for families, particularly those in the Rockingham area, and the most disadvantaged in our community. People cannot afford to see or cannot find a doctor. It is as simple as that. This has put basic health care out of reach. In the federal seat of Brand, bulk-billing rates have dropped from 82.4 per cent in 1999-2000 to a low of 68 per cent. This decline is placing increasing pressure on our emergency departments and public hospitals. This is not about blaming people. Even the federal Government now acknowledges that the system is in decline. Seventy per cent of the presentations at the Rockingham-Kwinana District Hospital - in the electorate of the member for Peel - are by people who would ordinarily be treated by a bulk-billing GP; yet, members opposite ask what impact this has on the public hospital system. The Commonwealth can no longer ignore this situation. This is not about blaming people but about coming together and making sure that we raise this issue with the Commonwealth. This is on the agenda of Friday’s meeting of health ministers. I will raise this issue with all the ministers, including the federal minister. They cannot ignore this decline - this catastrophe - any longer. The federal Government must lift its game on this issue.
Mr R.C. KUCERA: Those patients who access bulk-billing are not the people who take heed of the 30 per cent private health insurance rebate or who use the doctors surgeries along Stirling Highway; they are the battlers who use the hospitals and the doctors in the electorate of the member for Peel. That is why we have a bulk-billing system. The figures are staggering. Payments made by patients to non-bulk-billing GPs have risen by 50 per cent. That is where the Opposition’s 30 per cent rebate has gone. In the past year alone the number of bulk-billed GP services in Western Australia declined by a staggering 317 000. The decline has huge ramifications for families, particularly those in the Rockingham area, and the most disadvantaged in our community. People cannot afford to see or cannot find a doctor. It is as simple as that. This has put basic health care out of reach. In the federal seat of Brand, bulk-billing rates have dropped from 82.4 per cent in 1999-2000 to a low of 68 per cent. This decline is placing increasing pressure on our emergency departments and public hospitals. This is not about blaming people. Even the federal Government now acknowledges that the system is in decline. Seventy per cent of the presentations at the Rockingham-Kwinana District Hospital - in the electorate of the member for Peel - are by people who would ordinarily be treated by a bulk-billing GP; yet, members opposite ask what impact this has on the public hospital system. The Commonwealth can no longer ignore this situation. This is not about blaming people but about coming together and making sure that we raise this issue with the Commonwealth. This is on the agenda of Friday’s meeting of health ministers. I will raise this issue with all the ministers, including the federal minister. They cannot ignore this decline - this catastrophe - any longer. The federal Government must lift its game on this issue.
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