Department of Health figures released yesterday show 72.4 per cent of visits to GPs incurred no out-of-pocket cost for the patient during the three months to December.
This is up from 71.8 per cent for the September quarter and 66.5 per cent from December 2003.
In further good news for patients - not to mention the Government - the average out-of-pocket cost to patients who are not bulk-billed has dropped to $14.69, the lowest for a year.
These figures are likely to improve further as the Government's election promises kick in, particularly the lift in the Medicare rebate from just over $25 to about $30.

"For all of minister Abbott's shameless self-aggrandisement, the truth of the matter is that people around the country are still struggling to find a doctor at all, struggling to find a doctor who bulk-bills and facing soaring out of pocket costs when they do see the doctor. There is nothing here of which minister Abbott should be proud," she said.

... Bill Glasson said the rise in bulk-billing was levelling off as the incentives introduced last year for GPs started to lose their value. "The Government got all the bang out of its bulk-billing buck in the first six months of last year," Dr Glasson said. He acknowledged further Government measures would spark rises this year.