Doctors are abusing the $28 billion Medicare system, at times putting patients at risk, billing dead people and falsifying patient records, all to boost profits.
While running the Medicare regulator for six years until 2011, Dr Tony Webber estimated misuse was costing Australians up to $3 billion a yearRevelations about the rorting of Medicare is aired at a time when health spending comes under pressure due to a deteriorating economy
The fraud and waste has been allowed to occur for decades despite repeated warnings to successive governments from experts, including Medicare expert Margaret Faux."And I'd like to think that most of them are. But the reality is anywhere where you've got a huge pot of money that is super easy to access, you are going to get bad actors building business models just taking the money unlawfully. And it's a huge problem in the Medicare system.
"The administration of Medicare is a very political creature to work with, and it can be very difficult for change to occur," he said."Unfortunately, because one side of politics who chose to change it, he's hit on the head by the other side of politics, because Medicare's such a sacred cow." Dr Faux, the country's leading expert on Medicare who recently completed a PhD into Medicare claiming and compliance, believes wrongful claims are being applied to millions of billings.
"The bottom line is we don't know exactly how much is fraud, deliberate abuse and how much is errors, but it actually doesn't matter anymore. Whether it's deliberate or unintentional, it has to stop," she said.Documents obtained by the Herald, The Age and 7.30 show an online telehealth company appears to have illegally bulk-billed patients while also charging $38 or $50 a visit.
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