When i got my referral the dr said it owuld be bulk billed, and when i got there i found out the place i went to doesnt bulk bill, and it actually just meant i got a slight medicare refund- it was lucky i had the cash on me as the dr said he ticked the bulk bill section- i am only 27 but i have had a few dramas in my previous pregnancies. My last pregnancy i got a ratio chance of 1:650 for downs when i was only 25, which is why the dr insisted i have the nt scan again this time. It cost me $135 with a rebate of about $55 so i was $70 out of pocket

I was told years ago by my dr that you are intitled to one scan to be bulk billed during your pregnancy- however in all of my pregnancies i have never been given a bulk billed scan EVER( i was sooo excited when the dr said it would be!!) i have always had to pay. Although i think its because the bulk billed one is for the 18-19 weeks morphology scan- which i generally choose to get a 3D/4D scan- which isnt bulk billed at all ever.

I agree the inconsistency is amazing, and so very wrong.