The Australian Institute of Health and Welfare report released on Thursday showed a patient's postcode has a huge influence on how much their health care costs.

The report, Patients’ out-of-pocket spending on Medicare services, analyses health services that were delivered outside of hospitals and subsidised by Medicare, including GP, specialist, imaging and obstetric services.

In 2016–17, half of patients nationally paid something from their own pockets toward their non-hospital Medicare services.

But for Canberrans that figure was 69 per cent.

The report showed Canberrans were among the most likely to delay medical treatment because of cost at almost ten per cent of patients.

Canberrans were almost twice as likely to face out-of-pocket costs when visiting the GP at 63 per cent, compared to 34 per cent of patients nationally.

Canberrans also paid the most in the country to see a GP with the median cost $32 compared to a median metropolitan cost of $21.

The ACT had the highest proportion of people paying for medical imaging and diagnostics, also recording the highest median cost per service of $90.

On a smaller statistical level, South Canberrans were the most likely of any area in the country to have to pay for Medicare services.

The data said 77.5 per cent of South Canberra patients incurred out-of-pocket costs, with a median price tag per year of $213.

When it came to the cost of services, only Northern Sydney residents were likely to face higher costs.

The average, yearly, out-of-pocket costs for the Northern Sydney public health network was $252 with the ACT the second most expensive at $224.

The median expense per specialist appointment for Canberrans was $87, compared to the metropolitan median of $68.

The data showed 9.6 per cent of Canberrans delayed or did not see a doctor or get an imaging test due to cost in the last 12 months.

That was second only to South Eastern NSW where 11 per cent of patients reported putting off seeing a doctor due to cost.

Health Care Consumers' Association of the ACT executive director Darlene Cox said there were significant barriers for people in the ACT to get the primary health care they needed.

She said the territory needed to dispel the rumours it was a wealthy community, with high healthcare costs a huge burden on some residents.

"We have incredible pockets of disadvantage," she said.

"It doesn't take long to find people who are living in poverty and disadvantage.

"It's significant if you think about the costs in the ACT for a standard GP consultation ... you're looking at on average between $85 and $95 per visit.

"The remaining 30 or 40 dollars to go to the GP (after the Medicare rebate) really is beyond what some people can afford.

"In Sydney there's both a higher proportion of bulk billing services and the standard cost for a standard appointment is lower at about $55 to $60."

The institute's spokesman Michael Frost said the report provided important insights into how Australians use health services and the barriers to accessing services in some areas.

"For patients who incurred out-of-pocket costs, the median amount each patient spent in the year was $142 — but patients living in some [public health network] areas paid almost double that of others," he said.

"A range of factors can influence out-of-pocket costs. These can include the types of services the patient requires, the availability of bulk billing and the cost of services in their area."