GP fees in Newcastle for a standard consultation will rise as high as $120 from next month due to the NSW government hitting contracted doctors with payroll tax . Login or signup to continue reading Having met to discuss the government's tax, GPs believe the only option is to increase fees. The tax, to be introduced from September 4, affects most GPs because they contract to medical centres.
Dr Max Mollenkopf, a practising GP who owns Whitebridge Medical Centre, said "there is not a profit margin in general practice to account for the tax". "Most local practices are all looking at increasing fees by $10 to $15," Dr Mollenkopf said. GPs in Newcastle and Lake Macquarie presently charge about $90 to $105 for standard consultations.
In the Hunter's other areas, these fees are about $75 to $90. So for many Hunter medical centres, standard consultation fees are expected to exceed $100 from September. Dr Mollenkopf, a Hunter General Practitioners Association committee member, said "patients should realise this is happening".
"It's very hard when the government is putting forward one narrative to people, saying they are trying to help with the cost of living," he said. "They are choosing to wield the tools they have in a way that increases costs on consumers. That's unfair.
" In last month's state budget, the Minns government exempted medical centres from paying retrospective payroll tax for the past five years. GPs had been concerned about being hit with $500,000 bills that could hav.
