The federal electorate of Mayo is one of four around Australia where no GP clinics bulk bill new patients, according to a report from healthcare search engine Cleanbill.

Mayo includes the Fleurieu and Kangaroo Island, as well as the Adelaide Hills.

Between January and April Cleanbill gathered pricing and availability information for 6,363 Australian GP clinics.

It says this represents the first ever comprehensive survey of GP clinic availabilities and billing practices and the findings paint a deeply concerning picture of Australia’s primary healthcare system.

Around the country, 35 per cent of GP clinics that are taking on new patients still bulk bill everyone.

At clinics that don’t bulk bill all their patients, the average out-of-pocket cost is $40.42 for a standard, 15-minute consultation.  This is paid by the patient on top of the $39.75 Medicare rebate.

According to the Cleanbill report, Mayo has 38 GP clinics, the average charge for a standard 15 minute consultation is $79.16, so the average out of pocket cost is $39.41.

The figures are not news to Mayo MP Rebekha Sharkie, who has been campaigning on the bulk billing issuefor many months.

“I am not surprised by this data, I have been hearing anecdotally from constituents that Doctors across our region have stopped bulk-billing everyone, even patients who hold a Commonwealth Health Care card.

“Constituents are either foregoing visits to their doctor, missing medications as they can’t afford to get their script renewed, or joining the waiting room in EDs, which is putting more pressure on our hospitals.

“In June last year I wrote to Minister Butler about this issue, and then in August met with the Minister to discuss the need for increased incentives for rural GPs to bulk bill, particularly young families and Health Care card or Pensioners/Seniors Health Care card holders.

“I have asked questions in Question Time, I have also written to the Treasurer asking him to make access to affordable health care the Government’s first priority in next month’s Federal Budget. We can’t have a situation where people sick or not taking medications because they can’t afford the doctor.

“With fewer medical graduates taking a GP pathway, we also need to explore other health care options, such as pharmacists taking on more of a role in helping people manage their medicines and explore whether pharmacists could consult with a patient to extend a script for some medications.

“For Mayo this problem is particularly acute, we are the oldest electorate by median age in South Australia and one of the oldest in the nation. The Medicare system was designed to ensure Australians had access to health care irrespective of their bank balance, I believe we are seeing that system rapidly fall apart.”

According to the Cleanbill report, of the adjoining electorates, metropolitan Kingston has bulk billing at 31 per cent of its 36 clinics, while rural Barker has it at 15 per cent of its 33 clinics.

Across South Australia less than 25 per cent of GP clinics bulk bill patients, but the state has lower out of pocket payments, on average, than nationally.

Full details of the Cleanbill Health of the Nation Report can be accessed on its website.