Doctors have warned the nation is facing a collapse of bulk billing, with many surgeries forced to charge gap fees to all patients, including pensioners, and some clinics in danger of going broke.

A large proportion of general practices that had offered bulk-billing have begun writing to patients to advise they can no longer continue such consultations.

Bruce Willett, Vice President of the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners, told Gareth Parker on 6PR Breakfast there had been “decades of neglect” of the funding of Medicare.

“Practices can’t sustain it and are making the choice to either close or abandon universal bulk billing,” he said.

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