Good morning. Guardian Australia today reveals more about the crisis facing GP clinics, with one saying that bulk billing is “becoming nonexistent” in one of the poorest areas of the country. And the former New South Wales deputy premier John Barilaro will appear for a second time before an inquiry into his appointment to a trade role in New York.
People in one of the lowest income areas of Tasmania are paying extra in their council rates to prop up health services and subsidise local GP bulk-billing clinics. Glamorgan-Spring Bay council mayor Robert Young said it was impossible to get bulk-billing doctors or even doctors who charge private fees to work in the region without heavily subsidising them. “Bulk billing is becoming almost nonexistent,” said rural Tasmania GP Dr John Saul. Guardian Australia has compiled a guide of everything you need to know about the issue, and if you’ve been affected, we want to hear from you.
