bulk-billing incentive
MBS item 10990: Bulk billing incentive, other services (MM1 practice)
Checked against the MBS in force from . Fee current from .
Changing on : practice locations follow the 2023 Modified Monash categories, which decide a practice’s incentive item.
Click here to learn what’s changing in the November 2026 MBS update
Item 10990 adds an incentive when a doctor at a metropolitan (Modified Monash 1) practice bulk bills an unreferred service not covered by the Level B–E or MyMedicare incentives, such as a Level A consult, procedure, health assessment or care plan. The schedule fee is $8.80, and the Medicare benefit is 85% of it ($7.50).
- Schedule fee
- $8.80
- Medicare benefit (85%)
- $7.50
Official MBS wording
A medical service to which an item in this Schedule (other than this item) applies, if: (a) the service is an unreferred service; and (b) the service is provided to a person who is not an admitted patient of a hospital; and (d) the service is bulk-billed in relation to the fees for: (i) this item; and (ii) any other item in this Schedule applying to the service; other than a service associated with a service: (e) to which another item in this Group applies; or (f) that is a general practice support service; or (g) that is a MyMedicare service
What to check before you bill item 10990
Each line links to the MBS passage it comes from.
- Bulk billed: both this incentive and the item it goes with Item 10990
- An unreferred service (the patient wasn't referred to the doctor for it) Item 10990
- Patient isn't an admitted hospital patient Item 10990
- Practice (the location of the provider number used) is in a Modified Monash 1 (metropolitan) area. The descriptor has no area limit of its own; the MM 1 claiming table makes this the MM 1 item, and practices in MM 2–7 use their own area's item MN.1.3
- Not with a Level B–E face-to-face consult or a Level B video or phone consult (a general practice support service: 75870), nor with a Level C–E video or Level C–D phone consult for a patient registered in MyMedicare with the practice (a MyMedicare service: 75880). The items are those in the MM 1 claiming table's other two columns (MN.1.3#0) Item 10990
- Not with a pathology or diagnostic imaging item: those have their own incentives MN.1.8
- Not one of the after-hours items listed in 10992 given away from the rooms with the patient in an MM 2–7 area: 10992 applies to that instead (10992's descriptor also lists the urgent after-hours items, which the tables leave out) MN.1.3
- One incentive goes with each MBS item billed: a consultation and a procedure at the same visit each carry their own MN.1.8
What item 10990 needs first
- Goes with any other unreferred item, bulk billed: e.g. a Level A consult, a Level C–E video consult for a patient not registered in MyMedicare with the practice, a care plan or health assessment, Better Access mental health, an antenatal attendance, a minor procedure MN.1.8
Billing item 10990 with other items
Can’t be billed with item 10990
- Antenatal visit with a practice nurse, midwife, or Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health practitioner (items 16400, 91850, and 91855)
- No bulk-billing incentive: an incentive payment is built into the fee TN.4.15
Can be billed with item 10990
- Vaccine given by an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health practitioner (item 10988)
- One bulk-billing incentive when bulk billed MN.12.6
- Wound care by an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health practitioner (item 10989)
- One bulk-billing incentive when bulk billed MN.12.6
- Practice nurse follow-up after a health check (Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander patient) (items 10987, 93200, and 93202)
- One bulk-billing incentive when bulk billed MN.12.6
- Practice nurse service for a patient with a care plan (items 10997, 93201, and 93203)
- One bulk-billing incentive when bulk billed MN.12.6
- Nurse or Aboriginal health worker support during a specialist video consult (item 10983)
- One bulk-billing incentive when bulk billed MN.12.6
- Heart health check (items 699 and 177)
- Bulk-billing incentive items, if their own conditions are met AN.14.2
Common questions
- What is the fee for MBS item 10990?
- The schedule fee is $8.80, and the Medicare benefit is 85% of it ($7.50). That’s under the MBS in force from 1 August 2026.
- Can you bill 10990 and 10987 together?
- Yes. One bulk-billing incentive when bulk billed. (Source: MBS MN.12.6.)
- Can you bill 10990 and 10997 together?
- Yes. One bulk-billing incentive when bulk billed. (Source: MBS MN.12.6.)
- Can you bill 10990 and 699 together?
- Yes. Bulk-billing incentive items, if their own conditions are met. (Source: MBS AN.14.2.)
- Can you bill 10990 and 16400 together?
- No. No bulk-billing incentive: an incentive payment is built into the fee. (Source: MBS TN.4.1.)
- What can’t item 10990 be billed with?
- The MBS has a rule against billing item 10990 with these: antenatal visit with a practice nurse, midwife, or Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health practitioner. Each rule and its source is on this page.
Sources
- Item 10990: Group M1 Management Of Bulk-Billed Services › Subgroup 1 Management of general bulk billed services
- Note MN.1.3: – Modified Monash 1
- Note MN.1.8: – Modified Monash 7
- Note MN.12.6: Services provided on behalf of a medical practitioner by a practice nurse and/or Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander primary health care professionals (MBS Items 10983, 10987, 10988, 10989, 10997, 93200, 93201, 93202, 93203)
- Note AN.14.2: Heart health assessment provided by general practitioners and prescribed medical practitioners
- Note TN.4.15: Obstetric MBS Telehealth (video and phone) attendance items
- Note TN.4.1: Antenatal Service Provided by a Nurse, Midwife or an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health practitioner - (Item 16400)
Not sure it’s item 10990?
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