For the first time ever, more than one million billings a day are being received by Medicare, a figure that outstrips the number of new patients over the past decade by three-to-one.
Announcing the Medicare statistics for 2014-15, Health Minister Sussan Ley said 21 million Australians accessed more than 368 million individual services on the Medicare Benefit Schedule (MBS).
The cost to taxpayers exceeded $20 billion, she added.
According to the Minister, about 90 per cent of the nation’s 23.95M population accessed Medicare last year, with an average number of 17 items being recorded per patient, at an average cost of $800 per person.
“Medicare claims are now an average of $350 a year higher than they were 10 years ago,” Ms Ley said.
“These figures paint a complex picture around the impacts of Australia’s ageing population and the ever-expanding list of new and improved medical treatments available in our Medicare system.
“That’s why this Government is currently developing a blue print to build a healthier Medicare that is patient-focused in direct consultation with clinicians and consumers.”
The Minister reiterated that the government is currently undertaking a “three-pronged approach to Medicare reform”, with a clinician-led review of the effectiveness of the 5700-plus items on the MBS, a full review of the primary care system - both due by the end of 2015 - and better education and compliance around MBS models.
Another statistic was that bulk-billing rates rose to “historic highs” of 77.6 per cent for all services and 84.5 per cent for GPs specifically.
