Australia

Medicare: Billing fraud costing $8 billion a year ‘outrageous’, health minister says

Health Minister Mark Butler says claims that billions of dollars are being corrupted from the Medicare system each year are being taken seriously.
Butler said the investigation would follow reports from ABC and Nine that: .
According to media reports, some practitioners are defrauding Medicare to charge for services not provided, and some doctors are reportedly billing deceased persons and falsifying medical records. I’m here.

Butler said the $8 billion figure cited by the media was higher than he expected, although there was “fraud in the Medicare system.”

Health Minister Mark Butler has vowed that allegations that billions of dollars are misappropriated from the Medicare system each year are being taken seriously. sauce: AAP / Tracy Nearmy

“It’s a far cry from other figures that have been provided to governments to date, including the National Audit Office, which only reviewed the program a few years ago, but I take it seriously,” he told ABC. told the radio.on Tuesday.

“We want to do everything we can as a government to ensure that every dollar is spent wisely,” he said.
The highest authority, the Australian Medical Association, said the allegations of Medicare corruption were professional defamation.

The association’s president, Steve Robson, said the majority of GPs did the right thing for their patients, indicating that the $8 billion figure was “massively inflated.”

Butler said he wanted to know the truth behind the corruption allegations.
Fraud investigations conducted by the Federal Health Service include an analysis of the work of experts who have investigated Medicare billing and compliance measures.
“[Surveys]are a great opportunity to take a thorough look at how audit and compliance systems are working and make sure they’re maximizing cost-effectiveness,” Butler said.

“A single incident of fraud or improper allegation would raise a very serious level of concern for Australians, especially given the current crisis in common practice.”

Medicare: Billing fraud costing $8 billion a year ‘outrageous’, health minister says

Source link Medicare: Billing fraud costing $8 billion a year ‘outrageous’, health minister says

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