Official new data confirms what local people in already know – that health costs have never been higher than under Scott Morrison.

The Government’s own Health Department has revealed to the Senate that people in Ipswich, the Somerset Region and Karana Downs area, pay an average out-of-pocket fee of $38.01 to see a GP.

This is a record high – up $10.39 or 38 per cent since the Liberals were elected in 2013.

The Health Department has contradicted the Government’s claims on bulk billing, admitting that 18.2 per cent of local patients have to pay to see a GP.

Specialist out-of-pocket fees are also at record highs, with people in Ipswich, the Somerset Region and Karana Downs area paying an average $82.91 to see a specialist– up a staggering $30.07 or 57 per cent under the Liberal and National Government.

Federal Member for Blair Shayne Neumann MP said with just 30.9 per cent of local people always bulk billed by specialists, these costs hit thousands of locals every year.

“These new figures are a damning indictment of the Coalition’s record of cuts and neglect in health,” Mr Neumann said.

“This comes on the heels of the Government making it harder for locals to access electrocardiograms (ECGs) as well as cuts to bulk billing incentives in regional areas.

“During the largest pandemic in a century, the Morrison Government has made it more expensive for people in Ipswich, the Somerset Region and Karana Downs area to see their doctor.

“After the Liberals tried and failed to impose a GP Tax, they introduced the Medicare freeze – a GP Tax-by-stealth.

“Scott Morrison extended the freeze as Treasurer, leading directly to the out-of-pocket costs that local people in face today.

“Health costs have never been higher than under Scott Morrison.”