Higher Medicare rebates will not cure broken system that rewards ‘speed, not need’, report says
by Melissa Davey Medical editor from World news | The Guardian on (#66FVX)
General practices have steady profit margins' and many are turning away from bulk billing, leaving poorer Australians without access to care, thinktank says
While doctors have called for higher Medicare rebates to meet the rising cost of providing care, a new report from thinktank the Grattan Institute argues that GPs have steady profit margins" and that more drastic measures are needed to preserve Medicare.
General practices need to be overhauled to employ a team of health workers including physiotherapists and nurses to better manage rising rates of chronic and complex disease, the report led by Grattan health and aged care program director, Peter Breadon, said.
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