General practitioners have threatened to stop bulk billing, with the Royal Australian College of GPs saying some practices around the country have already abandoned it, claiming it is sending them broke.

GPs say tradies are charging more for a 15-minute consult than what they get paid under Medicare.

“We want to have more investment in longer consultation, and see those rewarded by a minute-by-minute approach applied to a shorter consultation,” RACGP president Karen Price told Gareth Parker on 6PR Breakfast.

“We’ve got 50 per cent of practice owners worried about the sustainability of their practices.”

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