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Tamara Macpherson faced thousands of dollars in out-of-pocket costs after being diagnosed with breast cancer.

Tamara was grappling with a cancer diagnosis. Then came the $35,000 in medical bills

The first financial shock was the out-of-pocket expenses during the diagnostic phase. Then came the bills for four operations.

  • Melissa Cunningham

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Health Minister Mark Butler has angered the doctors’ lobby, who said he was playing a blame game and neglecting real reform.

Doctors accuse Butler of playing ‘blame game’ over specialists’ fees

Doctors said the minister was playing a blame game and neglecting real reform, as Butler said he was exploring whether the government could cap how much medical specialists charge for their services.

  • Natassia Chrysanthos
Depending on your income, you may have to pay the Medicare levy surcharge.

How a missing name on your health policy could cost you thousands

Avoiding the Medicare levy surcharge can seem fairly straightforward, but there are a number of caveats that can make it more complicated.

  • Julia Hartman
Federal government incentives have influenced a rise in bulk billing services across Australia, but many patients are still paying high out-of-pocket costs to see a GP.

Bulk-billing clinics balloon across Queensland, but patients are paying more

Queenslanders spend an average of $50 in out-of-pocket expenses to see a GP. This is despite bulk-billing services spreading around the country.

  • Courtney Kruk
The dollar could be hammered down to single-digit exchange rates in a 'hot' conflict with China.

Subsidies, sweeteners and price hikes: What changes on January 1

Long-promised changes in force in the new year include protections for cash, passport price hikes, and the arrival of Australia’s first Centre for Disease Control.

  • Brittany Busch
One policy – lifetime health cover – which was designed to bolster private insurance, now appears to be having the opposite effect.

We have a healthcare system where confusion reigns and the patient suffers

The healthcare system is badly broken, and it is consumers who end up paying, says Dr Margaret Faux in this edited extract from her book How to Avoid the Medical Bill Rip Off!

  • Margaret Faux
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What if giving a patient half a Xanax before minor eye surgery qualified as an anaesthetic service under Medicare?

The Xanax mistake that is still costing Medicare millions

Medicare wastes huge amounts of money and the public pays inflated premiums – the system needs reforming.

  • Margaret Faux and Joanna Sutherland
Inner North Medicare Mental Health Centre manager Lauren Bidstrup.

Hundreds of millions has been spent to fix mental health crisis. But will it work?

Over 40 Medicare Mental Health Centres have opened across Australia in the last year, including 12 in Queensland. We visited one on Brisbane’s north side to find out what they’re all about, and who they’re for.

  • Courtney Kruk
Angus Thomson in the waiting room of an urgent care clinic. 2025 

I thought Albo’s urgent care clinics were a waste – until I needed one

I couldn’t find a GP and didn’t have five hours to wait in emergency. Luckily, there was a solution.

  • Angus Thomson
The agency that overseas Medicare payments says more technology will help it tackle fraud.

From Medicare to unfair dismissals: Where the government is waging its red-tape war

The government asked bureaucrats for ways to cut red tape. They say new tech and AI can help make savings and stop criminals.

  • Shane Wright