From 1 November 2023, medical professionals will see a significant boost to the Medicare Benefits Schedule (MBS) payments for bulk billing. These are the payments that apply above the normal patient benefit as an incentive to bulk bill. 

The increase applies only to consultations with Commonwealth concession card holders and children under 16 years of age, and are being brought in to drive affordable healthcare for vulnerable patient groups. 

Political spokespeople have also indicated a hope that the change will address sharp declines in bulk billing in recent years, which most practice owners will know became a necessary step to ensure their survival amid sharply rising costs. 

What’s changing

For certain bulk billing items, the incentive payments will be three times the usual amount.
This applies to:

• face-to-face general consultations that last more than 6 minutes (Levels B, C, D, and E), anywhere and at any time 
• MBS Level B consultations via video or phone
• extended video and phone consultations over 20 minutes (Levels C and D, or E by video only) 

Bulk billing incentives for other consultations (such as MBS Level A) remain unchanged.  Incentive amounts also vary based on remoteness, with GPs in very remote areas able to claim significantly more. 

Should the increase change your billing strategy?

While the change is long overdue and eagerly anticipated, it does pose important questions for practice owners – especially as doctors are expected to field more requests for bulk billing from their patients. 

The financial landscape of healthcare has been anything but static in recent years. Escalating wage and operational costs, and the pressures of expanding services, caused previous bulk billing strategies to become almost entirely unfeasible. 

While higher incentives do help, practice owners should be proactive in understanding their true impact. This means diligently monitoring the practice’s financial health, and determining the level to which the new payments will bridge any financial gaps.

If you find the numbers overwhelming or the future uncertain, remember you're not alone. RSM’s experienced business advisers can support you in key areas, such as:

• cashflow and financial management 
• scenario planning
• comprehensive risk assessments
• best practice benchmarking

Embracing the Medicare rebate boost is just one part of the equation. In essence, striking the right balance must be the aim of the game – remembering that serving the community and maintaining the financial health of your practice are not mutually exclusive. They are two sides of the same coin. 

For a free financial health check of your medical practice, please contact our National Director of Medical on (02) 6057 3000 or your local RSM office.