Here’s a crazy idea, we could just employ health workers directly. Cut out the practice owners making a profit/charging rent to the doctors practicing out of their location.

Just not make the insane mistake the UK made by not paying health workers competitively. There’s a reason we have so many ex-NHS staff working in Australia, lol

We are super wealthy per capita by international standards, we could absolutely afford it. (If we bothered taxing the multinationals shipping our minerals overseas…)

I’m not super versed in Medicare billing, but what I do know is doctors can set their own rates, for which part is covered by medicare, and rates have been going up faster than rebates.

There has definitely been price gouging, because shopping around on GP visits is a pain, and often people just cop it.

It’s been years since you’ve been able to get bulk billing within like 7 km from Melbourne CBD.

Some of it is genuine cost of living increases, but there still doesn’t seem to be any mechanism to control prices other than the “free market”