Important Patient Notice
Changes to Practice Fees
Dear Patient,
Pittwater Family Practice is committed to maintaining the highest level of medical care possible. We have the most competent staff, and we treat every patient as an important individual.
We have kept our fees unchanged for many years. We are charging less than other practices in the area and the cost of running a practice continues to rise but the Medicare rebate remains far below the cost of providing quality care. Therefore, we have no choice but to increase our practice fees.
From 1st November 2020 our practice will be charging the following fees:
* We continue to provide bulk billing to our Veterans and all children 12 years and under.
* We are unfortunately unable to offer a bulk billing service on Saturdays and the fee for a standard consultation is $88. All Saturday fees incur an extra $3.00 charge on top of the normal fee.
If you have extenuating circumstances, please discuss these with your treating medical practitioner.
Thank you in advance for your understanding.
Pittwater Family Practice
| Service | Price | Gap | Rebate |
|---|---|---|---|
| Monday to Friday | $85 | $46.25 | $38.75 |
| Pensioners | $55 | $16.25 | $38.75 |
| Saturdays | $88 | $49.25 | $38.75 |
| Long consultations (20-40 minutes) | $140 | $64.95 | $75.05 |
| Pensioner Long Consultation | $94 | $18.95 | $75.05 |
| Home Visits (less than 20 minutes) | $140 | $74.10 | $65.90 |
Medical billing is a complex matter and subject to change. We are a private billing medical practice with standard appointment times of 15 minutes. The usual consultation fee (Level B) is $85, with a Medicare refund of $38.75 deposited directly back into your account on the day of the consultation.
We continue to provide bulk billing to our Veterans and now have extended our bulk billing to include all children 12 years and under.
On Saturdays, we do not routinely offer bulk billing but this may be waived at the discretion of the doctor.
For appointments over 20 minutes (Level C) the fee is $140 with a Medicare refund of $75.05 Discounts may apply at the doctor’s discretion.
We bulk bill children aged 12 and under, as well as Veteran’s Affairs cardholders. There is a significant discount for pensioners and Health Care Card Holders with a fee of $55 resulting in a gap “out of pocket” expense of only $16.25 after your Medicare refund.
We are unfortunately unable to offer a bulk billing service on Saturdays and the fee for a standard consultation is $88. All Saturday fees incur an extra $3.00 charge on top of the normal fee.
Please note that certain procedures, tests and vaccinations may incur additional fees.
If you are confused or have difficulties in paying your bill, please talk to reception. Our doctors are sensitive to situations of financial hardship and are willing to assist where possible.
Medicare Rebates
A complete list of our fees and Medicare rebates are available at reception. We are able to lodge your Medicare claim electronically when you pay your bill. Please ensure that Medicare has your correct bank account details on file, as they no longer send cheques. You can contact Medicare on 132 011, or log on to to view your account here.
More Info on Medicare Rebates
In recent years, the Medicare rebate has fallen a long way behind the CPI (Consumer Price Index), whilst the cost of providing quality health care has risen. We have endeavoured to absorb these costs for as long as possible, however, to maintain our high quality of service we have had to introduce small fees. For further information, head here.
If you find the Medicare rebate to be inadequate, we strongly encourage you to discuss this with your Federal Member of Parliament.