Member for Paterson Meryl Swanson has joined Shadow Minister for Health Chris Bowen in a campaign to help save bulk billing.
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While Mr Bowen has written to Minister for Health Greg Hunt and Minister for Regional Services Mark Coulton, Ms Swanson has started an online petition so constituents can add more weight to the campaign.
The Mercury reported last week how local medical practices could lose tens of thousands of dollars and the most vulnerable of their patients will be out of pocket, now the Federal Government has altered the Medicare rebate.
Bulk billing for health care card holders and pensioners will be reduced from $9.50 to $6.40 per patient after Maitland practices were reclassified from rural to the same classification as Sydney CBD.
Labor acknowledges that the change is based on more contemporary data, and that the intent is to better target incentives to rural and remote areas, however Mr Bowen is alarmed by the consequences in areas like Maitland which will lose access to rural bulk billing incentives.
Ms Swanson said according to the Morrison Government, areas like Kurri Kurri, Maitland, Raymond Terrace and Nelson Bay are metropolitan.
"I disagree," she said.
"Paterson (electorate) is not metropolitan, and so many people in our community rely on bulk billing to access medical treatment.
"These changes will mean more people will present to the emergency department of local hospitals, putting more pressure on our doctors and nurses," Ms Swanson said.
"Help me save bulk billing by signing my petition which is available on my website.
"I will take your messages to Canberra and tell the Prime Minister these changes will have severe consequences in our community."
Mr Bowen said that in some cases, doctors' practices have warned that the change will render them unviable altogether.
"This is alarming in all affected areas, and particularly in areas of socioeconomic disadvantage," he said.
He went on to say that Medicare statistics show that - for the first time on record - GP bulk billing rates fell in regional, rural and remote areas in 2018-19. "This trend will only be exacerbated by a cut to bulk billing incentives in many areas."
He called for an urgent briefing on the issue and urged the government to consider mitigating the impact on areas like Maitland.