New Concessional Fee for Children under 12

Effective from the 1st of January 2020, Eastern Shore Doctors will implement changes to the billing of children aged 12 years and under.

This change has become necessary due to the inadequacy of Federal Government Medicare rebates to reimburse your doctors and the practice for services that are provided.

For a number of years the practice has sustained the provision of bulk billing for children aged 12 years and under.  However, the current arrangements are simply unsustainable.  As a result of the ongoing cost increases related to service provision, Eastern Shore Doctors is left with no option but to address these fees.

From January 1st 2020, children 12 years and under will be charged at a concessional rate set at 75% of the private fee (applicable to the relevant item code).  This means that the following fees will apply to consultations for children aged 12 years and under:

Please note that scheduled government immunisations and infant 6 week checks will continue to be bulk billed.

There are no changes to the fee for children seen on weekend appointments.  These will continue to be charged a full private fee. See Fees for more details.

Continuing to provide our services to our patients and their families is very important to us and we understand that these changes may not be welcome.  We hope you will understand that this decision has been subject to thorough review of our options and consideration of the impact on our patients and it has not been made lightly.  However, the sustainability of the practice and the services we will continue to provide to the community are critical.

Should you have any questions in relation to these changes, please do not hesitate to speak with Eastern Shore Doctors senior administration staff.