Prime Minister Anthony Albanese backed the future of Medicare at a federally-funded GP clinic on the Central Coast, as his government vowed to "keep fighting to restore bulk-billing".
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Mr Albanese gave a press conference at the Lake Haven Urgent Care Clinic on Friday, which has attracted huge demand since it opened in December.
The prime minister said the clinic had "already seen 2300 people".
"It's making an enormous difference to people. All they need is their Medicare card," he said.
Lake Haven is among 58 urgent care clinics across the country, which the federal government funded to bulk-bill patients.
The clinics see people for conditions like upper respiratory infections, acute ear pain and rapid onset rashes.
Part of the aim was to ease pressure on emergency departments.
Shortland MP Pat Conroy said the Lake Haven clinic had been "incredible".
"It shows there's huge demand for the service," Mr Conroy said, adding there was also a GP Access After Hours clinic at Belmont.
"Ultimately we want people to be able to see their own doctor and ideally get bulk-billed," Mr Conroy said.
"We're going to keep fighting to restore bulk billing in the Medicare system."
The Lake Haven clinic operates from 8am to 7pm, but staff often stop admitting patients in the afternoon to ensure that those waiting can see the doctor.
Dr Sachin Choudhary, who runs the Lake Haven clinic, said it had "taken a lot of patients who couldn't find GPs, but needed to be seen on the day".
"We're seeing about 50 to 60 patients a day, which is our limit with one doctor," he said.
Clinic patient Tom Laidlaw, of Gorokan, said the urgent care clinics "wouldn't have happened under the previous government".
"I'm glad to see this government carried it out because the care on the Central Coast was going down," the 93-year-old said.
"The Medicare system was almost destroyed by the previous government. Now they're trying to get things going again."
Since November 1, the government has tripled the incentives offered to GPs to bulk-bill patients aged under 16, pensioners and concession card holders.
GPs are now charging up to $95 for standard consultations in Newcastle to cover their rising costs, up from $90 last year.
With Medicare rebates for a standard GP consultation now $41.40, gap fees can be more than $50.
Health care card holders in Newcastle are being charged up to $80 to see a GP, rising from about $70 last year.
Sometimes GPs bulk-bill the card holders or give them a lower fee. The government said tripling the bulk-billing incentive was making this possible more often.
"It's arresting the decline [in bulk billing] and heading upwards," Mr Albanese said.
However, people who don't have concession cards are also concerned about GP fees.
Asked if it was a realistic aim for most people to be bulk-billed for GP visits, the prime minister said: "We support bulk-billing and Medicare".
"When Peter Dutton was the health minister, he tried to introduce the GP tax of $7 for every visit to the doctor. That would have destroyed bulk billing."
