Liberal Candidate for Macquarie, Mike Creed and Shadow Minister for Health, Senator Anne Ruston have released a statement saying the findings of the 2025 Cleanbill Blue report are damning.
“Under the Albanese Labor Government, bulk billing is going backwards as out-of-pocket healthcare costs are going up across Hawkesbury, Penrith and Blue Mountains,” the joint release stated.
“Bulk billing has collapsed, despite all of Labor’s disingenuous rhetoric. According to the findings, the rate of clinics that will bulk bill new adult patients without a concession card in in NSW has decreased by 2.7% in the past year alone to 34.5%.
“At the same time, out-of-pocket costs for patients in NSW who cannot get access to bulk billing have risen by more than 4% in just one year to $44.05 on average in 2025.
“This adds further stress to household budgets in the middle of the cost-of-living crisis, forcing people to make the difficult choice between going to see a doctor or paying the bills. Concerningly, more than 1.5 million Australians avoided seeing a GP in 2023-24 due to cost concerns – a shocking 25% increase in just one year.
Senator Anne Ruston said that it has “literally never been harder or more expensive to see a doctor than under the Albanese Government,” and this is hitting the people of NSW at a time when they can least afford it.
“It is unacceptable that more and more Australians are being forced to avoid essential healthcare because they just cannot afford it under Labor. This poses a serious risk for the health of all Australians and for our hospital systems, which we know are already overrun,” Senator Ruston said.
“Instead of focusing on the record high healthcare costs that they have created, Labor is lying to Australians with a third attempt at their disgraced Mediscare campaign. The reality is that the Coalition increased Medicare funding every single year in government and oversaw record high bulk billing rates. Under Labor, Medicare has only been weakened.”
Liberal Candidate for Macquarie Mike Creed said the Macquarie electorate has been forgotten by the Labor Government.
“Another three years of the Albanese Government would be a disaster,” Mr Creed said.
“It has never been harder for locals to find a bulk billing doctor.
“Liberal Governments increased Medicare funding every single year and delivered record bulk billing rates, while the Albanese Labor has overseen a bulk billing collapse.”
“The Coalition already announced that we will invest in women’s health, including specialist cancer nurses to support Australians with Ovarian Cancer; we will double the number of Medicare mental health sessions; and we have committed $400 million to grow a strong pipeline of home-trained GPs, which we know is critical to addressing Labor’s primary care crisis.
“This investment will provide financial incentives for junior doctors to choose to train as a GP in the community. As the Cleanbill report makes clear, ensuring the availability of local doctors right now is a necessity.
“We are focused on ensuring that the Macquarie community has timely and affordable access to healthcare.”
