Bulk billing at Newhaven clinic

Wonthaggi Medical Group's Newhaven Medical Clinic has switched to bulk billing from the start of October.

All eligible GP services are now bulk billed including: GP consultations; chronic condition management plans; mental health treatment plans; and health assessments.

However, fees may still apply for non-eligible services such as: procedures (eg skin excisions, ear treatments, nail removals); diagnostic services such as ECG; non Medicare services; and for patients without a Medicare number
A spokesperson for Wonthaggi Medical Group said the decision was made after careful consultation with doctors and the community.

"It was important to ensure that the program was viable for the doctors, appropriately supported by government, and beneficial overall for all parties," they said.

"As it happens, a few of our doctors will be negatively impacted by these changes due to their style of consulting. However, consensus amongst our doctors was that the benefits to the community in terms of the ongoing cost of living issues and affordable healthcare outweighed the negatives."

The spokesperson said the change could only have been made with government support, "without impacting severely on the high quality service and supplies we pride ourselves on supplying".

"If government policy changes in the future it may be necessary to review this decision."

The new bulk billing fees will apply at all of Wonthaggi Medical Group's three GP clinics, at Wonthaggi, Inverloch and Newhaven, and to all doctors.

"It was necessary for every single one of our doctors to be in agreement on this change for us to proceed," the spokesperson said.

"A formidable barrier when we have so many wonderful doctors practising from our clinics at the moment.

"Please note, this does not apply to specialists who occasionally use our rooms as a convenient way of reaching our rural community with their highly valued specialised skills."

The spokesperson also advised with a strong roster of highly skilled doctors, wait times for appointments are reduced for some doctors at the moment.

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