MALLEE residents are paying more for health care than ever, according to Labor Senator for Victoria Raff Ciccone.
Senator Ciccone said the Federal Department of Health had revealed to the Senate that people in the electorate of Mallee paid an average out-of-pocket fee of $34.25 to see a GP.
He said the record high was up $9.33, or 37 per cent, since the Liberal-National Coalition was elected.
Senator Ciccone said the Health Department had also contradicted the government’s claims on bulk billing, reporting that 32.3 per cent of patients in Mallee had to pay to see a GP.
Specialist out-of-pocket fees were also at record highs, with people in Mallee paying an average $74.47 to see a specialist — up $29.77, or 67 per cent, under the Coalition, he said.
“Health costs have never been higher than under the Federal Coalition Government,” Senator Ciccone said.
“These new figures are a damning indictment of the Coalition’s record of cuts and neglect in health,” he said.
“This comes on the heels of the government making it harder for locals to access electrocardiograms as well as cuts to bulk billing incentives in regional areas.
“During the largest pandemic in a century, the Morrison Government has made it more expensive for people in Mallee to see their doctor.”
Senator Ciccone said that with just 31.1 per cent of people in Mallee always bulk-billed by specialists, the costs hit thousands of locals every year.
