In a rich country like ours, no one should be putting off their health concerns because it’s too expensive to see the GP. But that's exactly what's happening here in Brisbane.
Brisbane is one of only a few electorates in the country that doesn’t have a single GP clinic taking new bulk-billing patients.
Brisbane locals also pay the highest average out-of-pocket fee for seeing a GP in Queensland, at $50.62 per consultation.
Too many people are going without the healthcare they need because they can’t afford it. It’s been getting harder and harder to see the GP for free since Labor and the LNP froze the Medicare rebate in 2013.
Delaying seeing a GP until you have multiple ailments to discuss, or putting it off entirely, is putting more pressure on the acute end of the healthcare system.
As your MP, I’ve campaigned for and secured a new Urgent Care Clinic in Brisbane, as well as securing $600,000 to increase mental health services for young people — and last time the Greens were in minority government, we got dental into Medicare for kids.
Over the next term, I’ll fight to:
- Make it cheaper and easier than ever to see the GP by tripling the bulk-billing incentive
- Bring dental healthcare into Medicare for everyone
- Slash the out-of-pocket costs to see a psychologist by removing the cap on subsidised sessions
- Close the trainee GP pay gap to ensure fair pay and better opportunities for development.
- Remove the cap on the number of subsidised mental health appointments you can get each year
- Make ADHD and Autism assessments free under Medicare
- Make telehealth free and permanently available
- Expand access to drug and pill checking facilities
- Remove the 6.5% funding cap to make sure the local public hospitals are properly funded
- Remove service caps on the the Chronic Disease Management Plan for people with chronic health conditions