What Bulk Billing Covers (and What It Doesn’t)

Knowing how bulk billing works helps you avoid surprises at the end of an appointment. So, what does bulk billing cover? In short, it covers services where your doctor bills Medicare directly and accepts the Medicare benefit as full payment. This guide explains how bulk billing works at Harpley Doctors.

What Is Bulk Billing?

According to Services Australia’s bulk billing page, bulk billing means you do not pay for your medical service. Your health professional bills Medicare instead and accepts the Medicare benefit as full payment. You may be asked to assign the benefit to them, for example by signing a form or pressing OK on the EFTPOS terminal after your appointment.

Medicare enrolment is open to people living in Australia who are Australian citizens, New Zealand citizens, permanent residents or applying for permanent residency, among some other groups, and some visitors from Reciprocal Health Care Agreement countries may also be able to enrol. Services Australia suggests bringing your Medicare card or number to every appointment.

What Bulk Billing Covers at Harpley Doctors

All consultations and procedures at Harpley Doctors are bulk billed. A standard consultation is up to 15 minutes. If you are new to the clinic, the new patient registration guide explains what to bring, including photo ID and your Medicare card.

Services Australia lists what bulk billing can cover in general:

• visits to GPs and specialists who bulk bill
• tests and scans, such as X-rays and pathology tests
• eye tests by optometrists

Pathology is billed by the laboratory, not your GP. Harpley Doctors has an Australian Clinical Labs pathology collection centre on site, and whether a test is bulk billed is up to the lab. In Services Australia’s own example, a patient paid nothing for her blood test because the lab chose to bulk bill.

Vaccines work differently. Services Australia notes that Medicare does not cover the flu vaccine for most adults. At Harpley Doctors, the flu vaccine is free for every patient. Nationally, it is free under the National Immunisation Program for children aged 6 months to under 5 years, pregnant women, people aged 65 and over, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people aged 6 months and over, and people with certain medical conditions, as set out on the Department of Health flu vaccine page.

What Bulk Billing Doesn’t Cover

Services Australia lists things Medicare does not pay for, such as ambulance services, most dental services, glasses, contact lenses, hearing aids and cosmetic surgery, as well as the cost of a cancelled or missed appointment.

You can read more about our services on our pages for Implanon insertion, IUD insertion, small-scale surgeries, pre-employment medicals, the yellow fever vaccine and the Q fever vaccine. For other services for women, see our women’s health and antenatal care page.

Home visits

• Home visits are available for clinic patients too unwell to attend.

Costs Outside Your GP Visit

For services outside your GP visit, ask about costs first. For example, sessions under a mental health treatment plan attract a Medicare rebate, but those professionals set their own fees.

The full list of fees, hours and policies is on our patient information and fees page.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is everything in a bulk billed visit free?

All consultations and procedures at Harpley Doctors are bulk billed.

Do I need to bring my Medicare card?

Yes. Bring your card and photo ID, especially to your first visit.

Is the flu vaccine free?

Yes. At Harpley Doctors the flu vaccine is free for every patient. Nationally, it is free under the National Immunisation Program for groups such as people aged 65 and over and pregnant women, and Medicare does not cover it for most other adults.