Medicare Bulk Billing Rate — methodology

What this metric measures

Percentage of Medicare (MBS) services that are bulk billed — meaning patients pay no out-of-pocket cost.

Why it matters: Bulk billing makes healthcare affordable. A declining rate signals reduced access to free GP and specialist visits.

Source & provenance

Publisher

AIHW

Update frequency

monthly

Licence

CC BY 4.0

Visit publisher page →

How the score is computed

The score is a 0–100 normalisation of the latest observation, compared to a baseline window. The traffic-light rating (RAG) reflects both the absolute level and the recent trend.

Direction

Higher is better

Trend window

60 months

Baseline

Last 10 years

{
  "red_max_pct_of_baseline": 95,
  "amber_min_pct_of_baseline": 95,
  "green_min_pct_of_baseline": 102
}