No fall in March MBS spend, but carnage looms

Medicare spent about $30m more on GP services in March this year than it did last year, after the introduction of COVID-19 telehealth rebates, although the figures should be interpreted with caution

MBS expenditure on pathology was slightly higher in March than the same month last year, according to Medicare statistics.

Pathology companies began demanding rent reductions of 50% or more from GP landlords in the first week of April, citing falls in revenue, as The Medical Republic has reported.

These companies include Sonic Healthcare, an ASX-listed company with a market capitalisation of around $12 billion, which told the Australian Stock Exchange on 20 March that its “balance sheet is in a strong position”.

Published government statistics show that $277.2 million was paid for all categories of pathology testing in March 2020, up from $273.3 million in 2019 – about a $4 million difference.

Spending on diagnostic imaging, however, was down almost $20 million, from $295.1 million to $275.9 million.

The Medical Republic has spoken to two radiologists who have been let go since the March decline.

Given the drop in demand for radiology, large companies that offered both pathology and radiology – including Sonic – may be seeking to spread their losses across the services.

The figures also suggest that Medicare spent about $30 million more on GP services in the month of March this year than it did last year, after the introduction of COVID-19 telehealth rebates, although the figures should be interpreted with caution.

The Medical Republic compared the MBS expenditure on all the professional attendance items that GPs can claim and found $590.8 million was spent this year in March 2020 compared with $561.2 million last year, including $44.7 million on COVID-related telehealth items.

This includes a million-dollar reduction since 2019 in three PIP payments – for cervical screening, diabetes and asthma – that have been rolled into the QI PIP, which is paid to practices rather than GPs individually.

The spending also includes smaller amounts for items that did not exist in March 2019 – $89,000 for eating disorder management plans and $8000 for rural telehealth – and a $391,000 jump in flag fall for visiting aged-care facilities, for which the billing structure has changed.

The April figures will be released at the end of this month. They may be truer reflection of the downturn in GP attendances, but that may well be masked by a temporary spike caused by the influx of patients seeking influenza vaccinations.