Grattan Institute urges Medicare funding withdrawal for high-fee specialists

The Grattan Institute has called on the Australian Federal Government to withdraw Medicare funding from specialist doctors who charge extreme fees. A recent policy brief, titled “Out of control: How to rein in runaway specialist fees”, reports that specialist fees have grown three times faster than inflation since 2023.

According to the institute, nearly one million Australians avoid or delay specialist medical care annually due to high costs. The report notes that over two million Australians now pay at least one extreme specialist fee per year, which is more than double the figure recorded in 2020. Specific increases were noted for dermatologists, with median initial consultation fees rising 7 per cent above inflation, and psychiatrists, where fees rose by more than 20 per cent.

To address these rising costs, the Grattan Institute recommends that the government train more specialists, expand public clinics, and implement regulations on extreme fees. Peter Breadon, the institute’s health program director, described the situation as a “policy failure” that exacerbates the cost-of-living crisis.