As cost-of-living pressures continue to impact the families and communities in Australia, finding ways to save on everyday essentials is more critical than ever.

I am reaching out on behalf of the Australian Government Department of Health and Aged Care to share a major update that can help your readers, listeners and viewers save hundreds of dollars a year on healthcare with the expansion of Medicare bulk billing.

Thanks to increased investment in the Bulk Billing Practice Incentive Program (BBPIP), more General Practitioners (GPs) across Australia are now offering bulk-billed, zero-cost appointments for eligible patients.

What this means for your audience:

• Zero out-of-pocket costs: Medicare-eligible patients pay nothing to see a participating GP for eligible services.

• Covered services: General consultations, telehealth, mental health treatment plans and chronic condition management.

Ready-to-Use Quotes & In-Language Resources:

To help you share this story easily, we have a complete quote bank featuring real-life experiences from community members, like Ankush, Christina, Rena and Thi, explaining how the free doctor visits have supported their family budgets. You can also access their full story in Arabic, Greek, Italian, Khmer, Korean, Punjabi, Simplified Chinese, Spanish, Traditional Chinese and Vietnamese.

The department has also developed dedicated, translated resources (including fact sheets, posters, and brochures) in the above languages to help your audience easily find and access these free services.

You can view the case studies and resources here: health.gov.au/bulkbilling/translated-resources 

How we can support your publication: We know your team is busy, so we want to make publishing this story as seamless as possible. We can provide:

• Immediate access to our in-language quote bank.
• Copywriting assistance to draft a short news piece or community notice tailored to your specific format, or review an article your team writes to ensure accuracy.

Would you be interested in covering this story and sharing how local families can access these free health services?

Thank you for your time. Looking forward to hearing from you.