One of the last medical centres in Bendigo to bulk bill patients has called on other services to resume applying a rebate system following the introduction of new incentives.
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Hargreaves Street Medical Practice in Bendigo has always practised bulk billing when many other practices switched to charging patients the full fee.
The practice's principal GP Dr Shoaib Mirza admitted it caused a massive swelling of patients for the service and required the medical practice to open for longer hours.
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But as of November 1, the Federal Government has tripled the incentive medical centres receive per patient for using bulk billing.
The increased incentive only applies to patients under 16 years old or if they are the holder of a concession card.
The bulk billing incentive is a payment paid on top of the Medicare patient rebate for a GP consultation, and increases with the rural location of a practice.
Previously, the rebate was $10.05 in Bendigo and $10.65 in Castlemaine, but since November 1 a Bendigo medical practice will get $31.40 and a Castlemaine centre $33.35 per patient it bulk bills.
Even with the big patient numbers, Dr Mirza said the four GPs who work at his medical practice were managing to keep up with the workload but added it would help if other services restarted using bulk billing.
"We have been bulk billing all the way because the most important thing for us is the continuity of care," he said.
"The patient load is so much (at Hargreaves Street Medical Practice) we have had to open up extra hours because we have so many patients because of the bulk billing."
Bulk billing is when a medical services "chooses" not to charge its patients a gap fee for its treatment and so on top of a rebate, the Federal Government also gives the medical practice an incentive.
The improvements to the incentive means practices will see around a 46 percent increase in income per patient which Dr Mirza hopes will ease the workload.
"When (other practices) stopped bulk billing we had an influx of retirees and patients come to our clinic because they couldn't afford paying, so I think it (the new incentives) will ease a bit of stress and congestion," Dr Mirza said.
Dr Mirza said while this incentive boost was a good start, the major problem to patient congestions at medial practices was a lack of doctors.
"There is a shortage of doctors in Bendigo so per patient there are not many doctors available," he said.
"So we need more. But we also se still need more bulk billing clinics and more rebate"
Federal Member for Bendigo, Lisa Chesters, said the tripled bulk billing incentive was "one of the biggest improvements and investments" in the history of Medicare.
Ms Chesters said the clinic on Hargreaves Street "did the right thing by their patients" by continuing to bulk bill while many other services switched to a "private" practice billing service.
Ms Chesters encouraged other clinics to restart bulk billing not only for their patients but because the service itself would also see a good "pay rise".
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The Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP) has also welcomed the change.
RACGP president Dr Nicole Higgins said a tripled bulk billing incentive would help slow the decline in bulk billing for vulnerable patients and relieve pressure on hospitals.
"It is targeted relief that will help GPs to bulk bill more patients who need it - children, pensioners, and healthcare card holders," she said.
"Bulk billing has declined significantly in recent years because Medicare rebates have been below inflation for years, and are nowhere near the cost of care.
"GPs have been subsidising the full cost of care every time they bulk bill their patients.
"When people can see their GP when they need to, rather than when they can afford to, they are less likely to present at hospital emergency departments."
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