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The Guardian - AU
The Guardian - AU
World
Nick Evershed, Melissa Davey and Natasha May

Revealed: the areas where Australians are struggling to access free GP care

Elizabeth Street Mall in central Hobart
Elizabeth Street Mall in Hobart, where GP bulk-billing rates are among the lowest in Australia. Photograph: David Gray/AFP/Getty Images

Tasmania has some of the lowest bulk-billing rates in the country – and they’re getting worse, a nationwide investigation by Guardian Australia reveals.

Data obtained exclusively by Guardian Australia shows the percentage of patients who did not have to pay any fee to see their GP in a given year and were entirely bulk billed. Bulk billing is when the full cost of a consultation is paid for by Medicare.

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