Treasurer Jim Chalmers has also signalled Medicare rorting could form part of the government’s audit of wasteful spending as the peak doctors’ group said the revelations were “an undeserved attack on the whole profession” | rachelclun
Health Minister Mark Butler has commissioned a report on the Health Department’s existing compliance and audit programs following revelations billions of dollars were being rorted or wasted from Medicare each year and the system was failing to detect fraud or errors.
Butler said the overwhelming majority of Australia’s medical professionals did the right thing, but it was important that every dollar in Medicare was spent directly on patient care.“In light of reports in the Channel Nine papers today, I’ve asked my department to provide me with an analysis of Dr Faux’s work, and a report on the department’s existing compliance, audit and Professional Services Review programs,” he said in a statement.
“If these numbers are true, it’s absolutely atrocious. Every dollar rorted – whether it’s Medicare or the NDIS [the National Disability Insurance Scheme] – is a dollar thieved from people who need and deserve good health care,” he said at a press conference in Canberra on Monday morning.The Australian Medical Association said the vast majority of doctors did the right thing and the organisation had worked with the government to ensure Medicare requirements were clearer for doctors.
When asked if the Medicare rorting would form part of the government’s audit, Chalmers said Butler would investigate the claims. He said Government Services and NDIS Minister Bill Shorten was also separately looking at waste and rorts in the scheme.
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