Claims by the former government that most patients are being bulk billed are “not honest”, the federal health minister, Mark Butler, has said, as a taskforce prepares to examine why basic health care is increasingly unaffordable.
In December the previous Coalition government said GP bulk-billing rates were at a “record high” of more than 88%, with almost nine out of 10 visits to the GP in 2021 resulting in no out-of-pocket cost for the patient.
