Medicare Statistics
Medicare Statistics - June Quarter 2008
Bulk billing and Schedule fee observance data for the June Quarter 2008 together with data for earlier quarters and financial years.
Table of Contents
Percentage of Services Bulk Billed and Schedule Fee Observance (Table B7, Table C3, Table B8, Table B9 and Table C4)
The major aggregates and changes in major aggregates are as follows: | Bulk Billed | Schedule Fee Observance | ||||
| Change in % Points | | Change in % Points | |||
Broad type of Service | June Quarter 2008 | June 2008 on June Qtr 2007 | 2007/08 on 1984/85 | June Quarter 2008 | June Qtr 2008 on June Qtr 2007 | 2007/08 on 1984/85 |
| Non-referred (GP) attendances- | | | | | ||
| GP/VRGP | 78.3% | 0.8 | n.a. | 78.7% | 0.8 | n.a. |
| Enhanced Primary Care | 96.5% | 0.4 | n.a. | 97.2% | 0.1 | n.a. |
| Other | 80.1% | 0.3 | n.a. | 81.7% | 0.3 | n.a. |
| Total | 79.1% | 0.9 | n.a. | 79.5% | 0.9 | n.a. |
| Practice nurse | 95.0% | 0.1 | n.a. | 98.5% | -0.2 | n.a. |
| TOTAL | 80.1% | 1.1 | 26.7 | 80.7% | 1.1 | 2.9 |
| Spec attend | 25.8% | 0.2 | 4.3 | 33.1% | -0.6 | -40.7 |
| Obstetrics | 30.5% | 2.5 | 13.4 | 45.3% | 1.3 | -21.7 |
| Anaesthetics | 7.6% | -0.1 | 3.0 | 10.3% | -0.2 | -49.6 |
| Pathology | 86.3% | -1.0 | 42.4 | 92.3% | -0.3 | -3.6 |
| Diag. Imaging | 64.1% | 2.4 | 28.9 | 70.9% | 2.0 | -14.5 |
| Operations | 41.7% | -0.3 | 14.7 | 50.2% | -0.7 | -27.1 |
| Optometry | 97.0% | 0.1 | 28.7 | 99.5% | 0.0 | -0.1 |
| Other services | 49.0% | 3.8 | 11.9 | 66.0% | 4.2 | -16.4 |
Total | 73.9% | 0.5 | 28.2 | 78.4% | 0.8 | -3.0 |
Comments on Tables B7, C3, B8, B9 and C4
- In the June quarter 2008, bulk billing for all Medicare services at 73.9 per cent was up 0.5 of a percentage point on the June quarter 2007. The Northern Territory had the highest rate of bulk billing with 77.7 per cent, followed by New South Wales (77.0 per cent), South Australia (74.4 per cent), Queensland (73.5 per cent), Victoria (72.0 per cent), Tasmania (71.3 per cent), Western Australia (69.8 per cent) and the Australian Capital Territory (63.2 per cent).
- In the June quarter 2008, the bulk billing rate for all services of 73.9 per cent, was up 0.2 of a percentage point on the March quarter 2008, and was 0.5 of a percentage point on the June quarter 2007. In the June quarter 2008 relative to the June quarter 2007, South Australia and Tasmania experienced increases of 1.7 percentage points to 74.4 per cent and 71.3 per cent, respectively, followed by Queensland and the Australian Capital Territory – both up 0.8 of a percentage point to 73.5 per cent and 63.2 per cent, respectively, Victoria (+0.6 of a percentage point to 72.0 per cent), Western Australia (+0.4 of a percentage point to 69.8 per cent), the Northern Territory (+0.3 of a percentage point to 77.7 per cent) and New South Wales (+0.1 of a percentage point to 77.0 per cent).
- The rate of bulk billing for Australia increased from 45.2 per cent in 1984/85 to 72.3 per cent in 1999/00, then fell to 67.8 per cent in 2002/03 and to 67.5 per cent in 2003/04. The rate of bulk billing has since increased each year to 73.4 per cent in 2007/08. Apart from the Northern Territory, which experienced no change, all States and the Australian Capital Territory experienced increases in bulk billing in 2007/08 on 2006/07. Tasmania experienced the largest increase (+2.4 percentage points to 70.5 percent), followed by South Australia (+1.9 percentage points to 73.4 per cent), the Australian Capital Territory (+1.5 percentage points to 62.9 per cent), Queensland (0.7 of a percentage point to 72.5 per cent), Victoria (+0.6 of a percentage point to 71.4 per cent), Western Australia (+0.2 of a percentage point to 69.5 per cent) and New South Wales (+0.1 of a percentage point to 76.7 per cent). In 2007/08 (12 months to June) the rate of bulk billing in Australia was 28.2 percentage points higher than in 1984/85 (12 months to June). For the Australian Capital Territory the rate of bulk billing in 2007/08 was 41.1 percentage points higher than in 1984/85, followed by Tasmania (34.1 percentage points higher) and South Australia (31.6 percentage points higher).
- In the June quarter 2008, Schedule fee observance at 78.4 per cent was up 0.8 of a percentage point on the June quarter 2007. In the June quarter 2008, New South Wales had the highest rate of Schedule fee observance with 81.9 per cent, followed by the Northern Territory with 80.0 per cent, South Australia with 78.9 per cent, Victoria and Queensland – both with 76.8 per cent, Tasmania with 76.2 per cent, and Western Australia with 74.3 per cent. The Australian Capital Territory had the lowest level of Schedule fee observance with 66.9 per cent of services.
- In the June quarter 2008 relative to the June quarter 2007, the largest increase in Schedule fee observance was in South Australia (+1.6 percentage points to 78.9 per cent), followed by Tasmania (+1.4 percentage points to 76.2 per cent), Victoria and the Australian Capital Territory (both up 0.9 of a percentage point to 76.8 per cent and 66.9 per cent, respectively), Queensland (+0.8 of a percentage point to 76.8 per cent), New South Wales (+0.7 of a percentage point to 81.9 per cent), the Northern Territory (+0.4 of a percentage point to 80.0 per cent) and Western Australia (+0.2 of a percentage point to 74.3 per cent).
- In 2007/08 (12 months to June) the level of Schedule fee observance in the Australian Capital Territory was 13.0 percentage points lower than in 1984/85 (12 months to June). Other States/Territories with significantly lower levels of Schedule fee observance were South Australia (8.8 percentage points lower), the Northern Territory (5.6 percentage points lower), New South Wales (4.6 percentage points lower), Tasmania (4.4 percentage points lower) and Western Australia (2.9 percentage points lower). In 2007/08, Schedule fee observance for Victoria and Queensland was 1.2 and 1.0 percentage points higher, respectively, than for 1984/85 (12 months to June).
