Australia's Taxpayers Footing the Bill for Rising Specialist Fees in Medicare Safety Net
A recent analysis by Guardian Australia reveals that Australian taxpayers have been increasingly subsidising the rising fees of specialist doctors, as government spending on the Medicare safety net has more than doubled over the past 15 years. The safety net, designed to protect patients from high out-of-pocket medical costs, has become a costly and complex system.
In 2010, total Medicare safety net benefits were just $339 million, but this figure had risen to $871.4 million in 2024 – an explosive growth of over $532 million. The majority of this increase was attributed to the extended Medicare safety net, which was introduced by then-health minister Tony Abbott in 2004.
Under this scheme, patients with high out-of-pocket medical costs receive higher benefits once they reach certain thresholds spent on out-of-hospital Medicare services each year. However, critics argue that the system has created a badly designed subsidy that disproportionately benefits fee-charging specialists and wealthy patients who can afford to repeatedly see them.
Peter Breadon, health program director at the Grattan Institute, described this growth as "explosive" and warned that the system's high costs have created two key problems. Firstly, the costs are surging because of a badly designed subsidy that has led to money going to fee-charging specialists and wealthy patients who can afford to repeatedly see them. Secondly, specialist fees are soaring, pushing more patients over the threshold each year.
This issue is further exacerbated by workforce shortages in public healthcare, which reduces access to these services for many Australians. Experts argue that addressing rising specialist fees requires addressing workforce shortages, improving access to public healthcare, and regulating excessive fees.
Former chief medical officer Prof Brendan Murphy has also highlighted the problem, saying that high specialist incomes have created challenges and that the disparity between GP specialists and most other non-GP specialists is now "unjustifiable".
With the Albanese government reviewing the Medicare safety nets, caps on extended safety net benefits for some items introduced in 2010 to curb fee inflation have been expanded. However, experts warn that more needs to be done to address the underlying issue of rising specialist fees and create a fairer healthcare system for all Australians.
As one expert has noted, "Given the community and government angst about this issue, specialists would do well to reflect on the impact of their fees on patients and potentially consider a minor trade-off in income."
A recent analysis by Guardian Australia reveals that Australian taxpayers have been increasingly subsidising the rising fees of specialist doctors, as government spending on the Medicare safety net has more than doubled over the past 15 years. The safety net, designed to protect patients from high out-of-pocket medical costs, has become a costly and complex system.
In 2010, total Medicare safety net benefits were just $339 million, but this figure had risen to $871.4 million in 2024 – an explosive growth of over $532 million. The majority of this increase was attributed to the extended Medicare safety net, which was introduced by then-health minister Tony Abbott in 2004.
Under this scheme, patients with high out-of-pocket medical costs receive higher benefits once they reach certain thresholds spent on out-of-hospital Medicare services each year. However, critics argue that the system has created a badly designed subsidy that disproportionately benefits fee-charging specialists and wealthy patients who can afford to repeatedly see them.
Peter Breadon, health program director at the Grattan Institute, described this growth as "explosive" and warned that the system's high costs have created two key problems. Firstly, the costs are surging because of a badly designed subsidy that has led to money going to fee-charging specialists and wealthy patients who can afford to repeatedly see them. Secondly, specialist fees are soaring, pushing more patients over the threshold each year.
This issue is further exacerbated by workforce shortages in public healthcare, which reduces access to these services for many Australians. Experts argue that addressing rising specialist fees requires addressing workforce shortages, improving access to public healthcare, and regulating excessive fees.
Former chief medical officer Prof Brendan Murphy has also highlighted the problem, saying that high specialist incomes have created challenges and that the disparity between GP specialists and most other non-GP specialists is now "unjustifiable".
With the Albanese government reviewing the Medicare safety nets, caps on extended safety net benefits for some items introduced in 2010 to curb fee inflation have been expanded. However, experts warn that more needs to be done to address the underlying issue of rising specialist fees and create a fairer healthcare system for all Australians.
As one expert has noted, "Given the community and government angst about this issue, specialists would do well to reflect on the impact of their fees on patients and potentially consider a minor trade-off in income."
! The growth from $339m in 2010 to over $871.4m last year is insane 
. It just goes to show how complex and costly the Medicare safety net has become. I'm all for helping patients who can't afford medical bills, but it feels like the system's been designed to benefit specialists more than anyone else 
.
, and high specialist fees just add fuel to the fire 
. We need to tackle these issues head-on and make sure everyone has access to quality healthcare, not just those who can afford it 
. Maybe specialists could consider taking a slight pay cut to help make healthcare more affordable for all? It's worth a shot, right? 
shouldn't we be encouraging people to get the healthcare they need, even if it costs a bit more? and btw, what's wrong with making some trade-offs in income for the sake of doing a job that helps society? it sounds like ppl are just too picky about how their money is spent.
esp since there are workforce shortages, which makes it even harder for ppl to get help. anywayz u think the albanese gov is doing enough to tackle this issue? 
. Maybe that means regulating specialist fees or finding ways to increase access to public healthcare 
. Something needs to change, and fast 
!
. I mean, it's not like they're even trying to regulate excessive fees...
. if you can't get enough doctors to help people, then shouldn't that be a priority? instead of just worrying about the fees. but nope, that'd require actual investment in public healthcare which is way too much for the government to handle 
. they get to keep getting more money while the rest of us deal with the consequences 
. We can't keep relying on government subsidies to prop up the system when there are so many other issues like workforce shortages 
.
. Maybe specialists should think about taking a slight pay cut to make healthcare more accessible for everyone? 
. It's like they're just throwing money at the problem without really addressing the root issue. The fact that specialist fees are soaring because of the extended safety net is just ridiculous 
. I mean, I'm no expert, but shouldn't we be prioritizing fairness over fancy incomes? 
I don't think it's cool that taxpayers are footing the bill for rising specialist fees. Like, shouldn't doctors just charge what they need or feel is fair? 
the growth of $532 million is insane! it's not just that the system is complex but also badly designed 
that's why it's disproportionately benefiting wealthy patients who can afford to see specialists repeatedly 
. The fact that former chief medical officer Prof Brendan Murphy is saying that high specialist incomes are creating an "unjustifiable" disparity between GP specialists and others 
(Source: Grattan Institute)
. Its like they're not even trying to keep costs under control, you know? I mean, $532 million more in just 14 years is wild 
.