The biggest problem in rural primary healthcare is communities where there is far too little care to go around.
‘GP deserts’ are areas in the bottom 5 per cent for general practice services per person. They need more care than most areas, but get the least.
GP deserts have been struggling for years. Recent multibillion-dollar boosts to bulk billing have failed to solve the problem. In fact, GP deserts fell further behind.
Instead of relying on poorly targeted subsidies, governments should step in with tailored solutions to make sure these communities get enough care.
Secure and long-term funding must be allocated to finally fix GP deserts. And governments must commit to target the worst first – not cherry-pick some locations, or restrict investment to some levels of remoteness over others.