Practice Fees

Kotara Family Practice is a PRIVATE BILLING practice.

Due to increasing costs your doctor's fees will be increased from 1 February 2024 - the current fee schedule as well as the changes from 1 February 2024 are listed below.

It will always be our goal to provide patients with exceptional care in a modern, well-equipped and comfortable practice, with a team who are dedicated, professional and expert. Unfortunately, as the Federal Government fails to adequately invest in Medicare, doctors have no option but to pass a portion of their costs on to patients in order to maintain their commitment to the highest-quality standard of care.

Regrettably, this means that KFP is no longer able to offer Bulk-Billed services.

All consultations (Face-to-Face and Telehealth) will attract a private fee. Some patients may be offered a reduced rate with consideration for their individual circumstances. A summary of your doctor's Fee Schedule is shown below. Your GAP is the out-of-pocket cost once you receive your rebate from Medicare.

Unfortunately for patients, the rebate amount set by Medicare has not kept pace with the inflating costs of providing medical services. Over time this has resulted in an increasing gap between the real cost of medical services and what Medicare returns to patients. This gap will, unfortunately, continue to increase unless the Government takes action to invest more in Medicare.

Your doctor will charge a fair and reasonable fee for their time and professional expertise, with consideration for their practice costs and the individual circumstances of patients. Fees charged to you not only cover the doctor's personal income, but also the expenses of running his or her practice, including fair wages for administrative and nursing staff, cost of purchasing and maintaining equipment and medical supplies, computers and IT, rent, electricity, insurances, cleaning, continuing professional development, registration and accreditation.

When you pay your consultation fee, we can arrange for your rebate to be deposited immediately onto your debit card or Medicare can deposit directly into your nominated bank account.

If you are concerned about the out-of-pocket cost of your medical care please do not blame your doctor. Instead, we ask you to stand with the medical profession in advocating for improved Government funding of Medicare and higher rebates for patients.

Services provided under a Medicare-funded Chronic Disease Management Plan or Medicare-funded Health Assessment will continue to be Bulk-Billed.

NON-MEDICARE SERVICES

Medicare will only provide a rebate for services performed by your GP or Nurse as part of a consultation.

A non-rebatable private fee applies for any service you request your practitioner to provide without a consultation.

TELEHEALTH SERVICES

Telehealth appointments are available as a convenience for you, however, they do attract the same fees as face-to-face appointments.

Please note that Medicare will only pay a rebate for Telehealth services if you have had a face-to-face appointment with your GP or another practitioner at the practice in the last 12 months (this does not include consultations for WorkCover). If this is not the case your consultation fee will be non-rebatable. **This is a Medicare rule**

RECALL & FOLLOW-UP APPOINTMENT

Your doctor is committed to providing you with high quality, evidence-based healthcare. They are committed to looking after your health now and for the future, by addressing your immediate health needs as well as preventive health care. From time to time your doctor may request that you return for an appointment to follow-up on test results, treatment plans or recommended preventive care. Your doctor will only request a follow-up where it is clinically indicated for your ongoing care and review. Although your doctor may request the appointment, they are still providing you with expert care and time and as such appointment fees will apply.

PAYMENTS

Your GP prefers all consultations to be paid for on-the-day. Payments can be made by cash, EFTPOS, or credit card (a surcharge applies).

FEE SCHEDULE UNTIL 31 JANUARY 2024

Your doctor's fee schedule is available at the reception counter. Please ask if you would like a copy. The table below shows the cost and out-of-pocket gap for the most common consultation types. Discount fees are offered at the discretion of each GP. If you have a consultation with a different GP at the practice you may be charged differently.

NEW PATIENTS:

All NEW patients require a long consultation (up to 30 minutes). If your consultation requires more time a higher fee will apply.

FEE SCHEDULE - UNTIL 31 JANUARY 2024 (see below for new schedule from 1 February 2024)

Consultation Type (Face-to-Face or Telehealth)	Full Fee	Discount Fee	Approximate Gap
Standard Consultation (less than 20 minutes)	$95.00	$85.00	$55.00 / $45.00
Long Consultation - Level 1 (up to 30 minutes)	$150.00	$136.00	$73.00 / $59.00
Long Consultation - Level 2 (30 minutes +)	$190.00	$175.00	$113.00 / $98.00
Extended Consultation (40 minutes +)	$250.00	$230.00	$136.00 / $116.00
Prolonged Consultation (60 minutes +)	$300.00	$280.00	$108.00 / $88.00
Saturday consultations:
Standard Consultation	$100.00	$90.00	$60.00 / $50.00
Long Consultation (Level 1)	$160.00	$146.00	$83.00 / $69.00
Long Consultation (Level 2)	$200.00	$185.00	$123.00 / $108.00
Extended Consultation	$260.00	$240.00	$146.00 / $126.00
Childhood Immunisations	$67.00	-	$25.00
** If your GP provides additional services during an immunisation appointment (eg. referral to a specialist or allied health provider, or additional examination/consultation) then a full fee may apply
Antenatal Care	$95.00	$85.00	$53.00 / $43.00
Procedural Care (such as skin excisions, laceration repairs, treatment of fractures or dislocations)	Cost varies depending on procedure		$50.00

Chronic Disease Management Planning

Services that form part of Medicare-funded Chronic Disease management planning are bulk-billed. Any unrelated services requested at the same time may attract a private non-rebatable fee.

Non-Attendance Fee

If you miss your appointment and do not provide reasonable notice (at least 4 working hours), a non-attendance fee will apply equal to half the scheduled consultation fee, per person.

MISSED APPOINTMENTS

If you are unable to attend an appointment we ask that you provide as much notice as possible to allow us to offer that consultation time to someone else.

If you miss an appointment (Face-to-Face or Telehealth) and do not provide reasonable notice (at least 4 working hours) a non-attendance fee will apply equal to half the scheduled consultation fee, per person.

FEE SCHEDULE FROM 1 FEBRUARY 2024

Due to ongoing and increasing costs, new fees will be in place from 1 February 2024 - these changes are shown in the table below:

Discount fees are offered at the discretion of each GP. If you have a consultation with a different GP at the practice you may be charged differently.