[Australia] Prime Minister called on to address GP payroll tax issue

Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP) President Dr Nicole Higgins has written to the Prime Minister to say that landmark changes to bulk billing in the nation’s medical centres may be welcome, but they will be useless if clinics continue to be ‘killed off’ by soaring tax bills, newsGP reports.

On November 1, the Federal Government rolled out its flagship Medicare changes. These included the long-awaited tripling of the bulk-billing incentive; a reform the College had been seeking for some time. 

The sweeping changes reportedly mean that healthcare will become more affordable for children under the age of 16 and those with concession cards, as  bulk-billing rates plummet. 

But as medical centres in many parts of Australia are on the brink of payroll tax-induced closure, the RACGP has warned that the reforms won’t help if there no clinics remain to roll them out. 

Dr Higgins made her case in a new letter addressed directly to Prime Minister Anthony Albanese. In it she called for the tax to be scrapped and for greater consistency between different states and tiers of government.

“While your government has taken steps to support general practice sustainability via Budget initiatives like tripling the bulk-billing incentive, disappointingly state governments are making things harder,” she wrote. 

“Lack of harmonisation is causing confusion and financial distress for many general practices … it is also threatening the ability of practices to make billing decisions in line with the Government’s objective to increase bulk-billing rates. 

“By aligning policies, we can not only simplify the taxation process but also ensure that independent practitioners, general practices, and service entities are treated fairly and equitably across the country.” 

Launching the new incentives at the Our Medical Gregory Hills clinic in Sydney, Prime Minister Albanese reportedly described the reform as”‘the biggest investment in Medicare bulk billing in 40 years”. 

“We understand that Medicare is at the centre of our health system, that the primary healthcare that GPs deliver makes an enormous difference to people,” he said.

Dr Higgins warned that the reforms will be ‘completely undermined’ if action is not taken against payroll tax. 

Speaking to newsGP she said, “We have a Federal Government wanting to put money into general practice and we’ve got state governments who are killing off any reforms, and general practice is caught in the middle.”

“There’s a state and federal divide when we’re trying to create a cohesive healthcare system, and it’s actively working against us. 

“Payroll tax kills off bulk billing, it’s that simple, because you can’t bulk bill and pass on a fee, and that especially impacts our most vulnerable patients.”

Polls from newsGP have previously revealed that just 3 per cent of practices would be able to absorb the costs of extra payroll tax. While more than half of respondents said they would have to increase out-of-pocket fees for patients by more than $20. 

Payroll tax is still reportedly causing significant concern and frustration among GPs. One Melbourne owner currently faces a retrospective bill of up to $5 million.

The majority of states and territories have now offered concessions or amnesty periods for practice owners to prepare for the change, though Victoria continues to lag behind.

Now the RACGP is calling for each Premier to commit to scrapping the retrospective collection of payroll tax, a three-year assisted compliance period to assess the impact on operating models and a consistent position from State Revenue offices.

In addition, Dr Higgins wants the issue to be added to the next National Cabinet agenda to elevate ther discussion to a nationwide level, with the aim of consistency between the leaders.

“You’ve got state governments who have empty coffers and they’re trying to replenish,” she said.

“But it’s a false economy if they think that they can use general practice to do that.”

Source: newsGP

(Links and quotes via original reporting)

Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP) President Dr Nicole Higgins has written to the Prime Minister to say that landmark changes to bulk billing in the nation’s medical centres may be welcome, but they will be useless if clinics continue to be ‘killed off’ by soaring tax bills, newsGP reports.

On November 1, the Federal Government rolled out its flagship Medicare changes. These included the long-awaited tripling of the bulk-billing incentive; a reform the College had been seeking for some time. 

The sweeping changes reportedly mean that healthcare will become more affordable for children under the age of 16 and those with concession cards, as  bulk-billing rates plummet. 

But as medical centres in many parts of Australia are on the brink of payroll tax-induced closure, the RACGP has warned that the reforms won’t help if there no clinics remain to roll them out. 

Dr Higgins made her case in a new letter addressed directly to Prime Minister Anthony Albanese. In it she called for the tax to be scrapped and for greater consistency between different states and tiers of government.

“While your government has taken steps to support general practice sustainability via Budget initiatives like tripling the bulk-billing incentive, disappointingly state governments are making things harder,” she wrote. 

“Lack of harmonisation is causing confusion and financial distress for many general practices … it is also threatening the ability of practices to make billing decisions in line with the Government’s objective to increase bulk-billing rates. 

“By aligning policies, we can not only simplify the taxation process but also ensure that independent practitioners, general practices, and service entities are treated fairly and equitably across the country.” 

Launching the new incentives at the Our Medical Gregory Hills clinic in Sydney, Prime Minister Albanese reportedly described the reform as”‘the biggest investment in Medicare bulk billing in 40 years”. 

“We understand that Medicare is at the centre of our health system, that the primary healthcare that GPs deliver makes an enormous difference to people,” he said.

Dr Higgins warned that the reforms will be ‘completely undermined’ if action is not taken against payroll tax. 

Speaking to newsGP she said, “We have a Federal Government wanting to put money into general practice and we’ve got state governments who are killing off any reforms, and general practice is caught in the middle.”

“There’s a state and federal divide when we’re trying to create a cohesive healthcare system, and it’s actively working against us. 

“Payroll tax kills off bulk billing, it’s that simple, because you can’t bulk bill and pass on a fee, and that especially impacts our most vulnerable patients.”

Polls from newsGP have previously revealed that just 3 per cent of practices would be able to absorb the costs of extra payroll tax. While more than half of respondents said they would have to increase out-of-pocket fees for patients by more than $20. 

Payroll tax is still reportedly causing significant concern and frustration among GPs. One Melbourne owner currently faces a retrospective bill of up to $5 million.

The majority of states and territories have now offered concessions or amnesty periods for practice owners to prepare for the change, though Victoria continues to lag behind.

Now the RACGP is calling for each Premier to commit to scrapping the retrospective collection of payroll tax, a three-year assisted compliance period to assess the impact on operating models and a consistent position from State Revenue offices.

In addition, Dr Higgins wants the issue to be added to the next National Cabinet agenda to elevate ther discussion to a nationwide level, with the aim of consistency between the leaders.

“You’ve got state governments who have empty coffers and they’re trying to replenish,” she said.

“But it’s a false economy if they think that they can use general practice to do that.”

Source: newsGP

(Links and quotes via original reporting)