The bulk billing system has allowed Australians to see a doctor without having to pay. However, an increasing number of doctors are being forced to stop bulk billing due to rising costs and lack of funding by Medicare and they can no longer continue supporting this service. Sadly this means that many Australians will no longer be able to afford to see a doctor. It would be helpful if there was an option to just pay the gap, but that option is not available either. 

The consequences of this will have a significant impact in many different ways. The health of a large percentage of people will decline and the hospital emergency departments will be the only way many people can get medical attention for ailments that are not an emergency, or become an emergency due to their inability to see a GP. This will further exacerbate the already inadequate, overrun and severely understaffed hospital emergency departments and significantly increase the problem with Ambulance ramping, resulting in preventable deaths, due to extended waiting times. Declining health issues will also cause extended absence from employment, with an increasing number of people becoming unable to work at all, putting an even greater burden on the grossly inadequate Social Security system.

The Australian health system was in crisis long before COVID hit and although Australia has managed the COVID crisis better than some other countries, it has left our health system and the economy in tatters. If the Australian Government continues to ignore the need to increase Medicare funding and allow the health of people to decline, our hospitals will very quickly collapse under the burden of caring for patients that it has no capacity to cater for.

The Australian Government MUST attend to this crisis immediately, before the entire system collapses beyond recovery.

We call on Prime Minister Anthony Albanese to pay immediate attention to this crisis.

Supporters can help by asking their local GP clinic to write a letter to the Prime Minister signed by their doctors - stating that stopping the bulk billing will disadvantage the vulnerable and please sign and share this petition.

The Low Income ACTION Group - Adelaide South - is a group designed to facilitate networking and strategies to directly assist with Low Income issues in the South of Adelaide.

Housing, Homelessness, Food Insecurity, Showers, Camping, Car Sleeping, Finances (Newstart / Youth Allowance / Frozen Wages etc), Advocacy at Job Agency Appointments - are some of the topics discussed at our meetings between interested parties and volunteers. Hearing from those with Lived Experience is essential - and testimonials are shared to empower the individual to not feel stigmatised by situations that are outside of their own control. Together we can help each other create a better world! Enquiries welcome at lowincomeactiongroup@proton.com