Dear Patients,
We have tried very hard to keep our practice a bulk billing clinic as we feel high quality primary care should be accessible to everyone without having to charge out of pocket fees to patients. However, the reality is that we are no longer able to sustain this model of primary care due to the ever–increasing overheads faced by our business on a daily basis, and the overwhelming costs involved in running a respectable medical centre.
We would like to continue to provide our patients with the best quality medical care, but in order to do this we must change our billing policy from bulk billing to mixed billing. Mixed billing means that we will now privately charge patients a practice fee for their appointments in full, and then submit a Medicare claim on their behalf to be reimbursed for the rebate amount instantly thereafter. We will continue to bulk bill patients who have a valid concession card (pension, health care, DVA and seniors health card holders), and also continue to bulk bill all children under 16 years of age, all other patients will be required to pay a private practice fee in accordance with the Medicare Benefits Schedule (MBS) items.
Chronic Disease Management plans (Care Plans), Health Assessments, Mental Health Care Plans and some other government funded Health Checks will also continue to be bulk billed for everyone.
Our fees list as of the 3rd of June 2024 will be as follows: –
| MBS Item Number | Practice Fee | Medicare Rebate | Out of Pocket |
| 03 (face to face) | $48.95 | $18.95 | $30 |
| 23 (face to face) | $71.40 | $41.40 | $30 |
| 36 (face to face) | $110.10 | $80.10 | $30 |
| 44 (face to face) | $148 | $118 | $30 |
| 91890 (phone call) | $48.95 | $18.95 | $30 |
| 91891 (phone call) | $71.40 | $41.40 | $30 |
| 5020 (after hours) | $83.90 | $53.90 | $30 |
| 5040 (after hours) | $122.45 | $92.45 | $30 |
| 5060 (after hours) | $159.65 | $129.65 | $30 |
To be transparent with our patients – The Medicare rebate is not to pay doctors for the services they provide, the Medicare rebate is what the Government pays the patient to help pay for/subsidise their healthcare.
Payments for all privately billed services will need to be paid in full on the day after the consult. We have Tyro Eftpos facilities available at our practice which will allow your Medicare rebate to be paid instantly and directly back into your bank account when you use a debit card. Medicare is unable to pay rebates onto a credit card.
Unfortunately, we are unable to accept a gap only payment on the day of service (the difference between your Medicare rebate and the practice fee). General Practitioners and Medical Centres have been asking for this option for years so the patient does not have to pay the full fee at the time of service. However successive governments have refused to legislate changes to allow this.
To summarise, patients will be required to pay the full practice fee after a consultation with the GP, and will then receive their Medicare rebate at the same time and therefore only be out of pocket $30 for most consultations. All children under 16 and any concession card holders will always be bulk billed.
We hope you understand that our need to adopt this new mixed billing policy is not about higher pay for our doctors, instead it is simply a means to the sustainability and viability of our practice so that we may continue to provide good quality care.
Yours sincerely,
Magnus Medical Management Team
