A former Melbourne resident says he "probably" would not have moved regionally if he knew how bad access to medical services was in north-west Victoria.
Bryan Dyck moved to Red Cliffs near Mildura shortly before the COVID pandemic began looking for an escape from the hustle and bustle of city life.
Mr Dyck requires regular medical appointments after a workplace accident several years ago, but says he had immense trouble finding a bulk-billing doctor who was taking new patients.
"Maybe I've just been spoiled in Melbourne — we had a 'super clinic' where we could get in fairly easily," he said.
"Up here, if I was sick today … I probably wouldn't be able to get an appointment for at least seven to 10 days."
The ABC called 11 GP providers in Mildura and surrounding suburbs this week.
Seven were not accepting new patients, due to being at capacity.
Just two of the services accepting new patients — Coomealla Aboriginal Health Corporation and Tristar Medical — said they would bulk bill.
The wait times for an appointment at each of those clinics was 14 and 18 days.
"I just find that crazy," Mr Dyck said.
"If I had known the medical issues up here were so bad, I probably wouldn't have moved here — it's that bad."
Bulk billing concern
Mallee Family Care executive officer Teresa Jayet said bulk billing was vital for people who struggled to pay for an appointment.
"If people don't have access … they just won't see a medical practitioner," she said.
"That creates a problem later down the track where their health becomes more compromised and more costly."
Ms Jayet said it also had flow-on effects for already crowded emergency departments.
The Mildura Public Hospital has warned of long wait times as they manage a "critical" shortage of beds.
AMA says raise the rebate
Tristar Medical Group, one of regional Victoria's largest providers of bulk billing general practices, went into administration last week heightening concerns about the access to bulk-billing practices.
The appointed administrator said Tristar's 29 clinics would remain open as it searched for potential buyers.
Marco Giuseppin is the Council of Rural Doctors chair with the Australian Medical Association.
He said the Medicare rebate had not kept up with the cost of running a practice.
"It hasn't changed that much from where it was set in the 1970s when Medicare was getting established," he said.
"You need around 10 to 20 minutes of quality time with your patients. The current Medicare rebate for that consultation is around $39.
"Without any positive action to fix this, we would anticipate that to keep the doors open, an increasing number of practices will have to resort to charging gaps to their patients."
Dr Giuseppin said it was also easier for larger medical practices in metropolitan areas to bulk bill, as they were able to share other costs across the practice.
New government considers rise
Federal Labor MP for Bendigo Lisa Chesters said the rebate should be changed.
She said this could happen as soon as October's federal budget.
"The government isn't paying enough," she said.
"If we're genuine about having a universal health system, we have to look at the Medicare rebate."
Additional reporting by James Findlay.
