Almost half of all Australians have put off getting the medical treatment they need because of the cost, exclusive research for the ABC’s Q+A has found.

The national survey by YouGov also reveals three-quarters of Australians have struggled to find a bulk-billing doctor despite billions of dollars in Commonwealth GP incentives.

The findings reveal inequity in the country’s public health system and echo recent alarm from medical and social care groups that sick Australians are not seeking the help they need.

And they suggest Australians would support a significant expansion of subsidized care, with overwhelming support for dental coverage, long seen as the biggest hole in the Medicare net.

Federal Health Minister Mark Butler, who was shown the new survey ahead of his Q+A appearance tonight, admitted: “We know there is more to do.”

Asked if they had “postponed any medical or dental treatment for you or your family because of cost-of-living concerns,” 46 percent of the 1,514 respondents to the weighted survey said they had.

The number was highest among Australians aged 25 to 34 (54%). Six in 10 renters said they delayed accessing healthcare.

Both those Australian Bureau of Statistics and the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP) reports a doubling of the number of people delaying or not seeing a doctor within 12 months. Data from the NSW Council of Social Service (NCOSS) released last week brings the growth closer to 2.5x.

“Financial pressures have put healthcare out of reach for too many people,” said NCOSS Executive Director Cara Varian.

Bulk billing is harder to access

Mr Butler said the Government’s $3.5 billion investment in bulk billing – tripling incentives for doctors – had delivered 5 million extra free GP visits since November last year.

But 76 percent of those surveyed last week said bulk-billed medical services had become more difficult to find in recent years. Only 6% thought it got easier.

The figures were similar across all demographic and political support groups.

The RACGP noted the government only incentivized appointments for children, pensioners and concession card holders, which is why many Australians have not seen the benefits.

“When I came into government, block billing was in the worst shape in the 40-year history of Medicare,” Mr Butler told Q+A, blaming the previous government’s “six-year freeze” on Medicare cuts .

A recent RACGP survey found that eight in 10 clinic owners were concerned about their financial viability because Medicare cuts were not keeping pace with inflation. Three in 10 said they want to stop practicing in the next five years.

But there was little sympathy from patients polled by YouGov – 84 per cent said they would support a ban on providers charging more than the scheduled fee for services covered by Medicare.

The opposition said a workforce strategy was needed and promised to spend $400 million to encourage junior doctors to enter general practice if the government wins.

“We understand that the reforms are not worth the paper they are written on unless we have the workforce to deliver them,” said shadow health secretary Anne Ruston.

Eight in 10 want Medicare dentistry

Eight in 10 Australians said access to free and equal healthcare was a more important value than being able to choose between public and for-profit providers (17 per cent), the Q+A/YouGov survey found.

And just as many — 82 percent — would support an increase in the Medicare tax to expand coverage of dental treatment.

The latest Australian Institute of Health and Welfare data from 2022-2023 showed 30 per cent of Australians delayed or avoided necessary dental work in the past 12 months, while 87,000 hospital admissions for dental conditions could have been avoided with earlier treatment.

Several cabinet members have publicly raised the need for dental coverage, which is part of the Greens’ policy platform. But the Minister of Health ruled it out for now.

“I know there is an ambition for Medicare in the medium to long term to include dentistry, but at the moment, we are focused on strengthening Medicare and general practice,” Mr Butler said.

Insurance value questioned

The number of Australians with some form of health insurance has risen to about 55 per cent of the population, although the industry acknowledges cost-of-living pressures have seen a decline in those with higher-level cover.

The Q+A/YouGov survey found that more than six in 10 respondents thought health insurance was too expensive and not good value for money.

Out-of-pocket costs per treatment are increasing for patients, while say the insurance groups is facing a “crisis of viability” due to rising costs fueled by inflation.

A majority of Australians (63%) would prefer governments to end insurance subsidies and invest the savings directly in hospitals. Although only half (51 percent) supported eliminating the Medicare tax, which penalizes taxpayers without insurance.

Six in 10 are confident they can afford an unexpected week of hospital treatment, either in the public system or with insurance.

Mark Butler, Monique Ryan, Bronnie Taylor, Preeya Alexander and Johann Hari join the Q&A panel tonight at 9.35pm on ABC TV and ABC view.