Health Minister Sussan Ley Photograph: Mike Bowers Guardian Australia/Mike Bowers
The rebates offered to doctors for medical services will be reviewed in a major overhaul of the Medicare system, health minister Sussan Ley has announced.
The wide-ranging audit of the existing system, which was revealed by Guardian Australia earlier this month, could recoup some of the savings lost when the government ditched its unpopular co-payment policy.
Ley will also review the current pause on indexation for Medicare rebates, which the government had extended until July 2018.
The health minister said she had “overwhelming feedback” that the Medicare rebate system needed an overhaul.
“Doctors and patients alike have raised various issues from over-testing and outdated or unproven treatments to unnecessary referrals, duplication, inefficiencies and systemic waste,” Ley said.
“Basically, there’s wide agreement the Medicare system in its current form is sluggish, bloated and at high risk of long-term chronic problems and continuing to patch it up with bandaids won’t fix it.”
Doctors currently receive money back from the government for medical services, diagnostics and courses of treatment as part of the Medicare benefits scheme (MBS).
Ley will create a review taskforce to analyse whether or not the government is getting value for money for the 5,500 services listed under the MBS. The taskforce will be lead by dean of Sydney University’s medical school, Bruce Robinson.
The overhaul will also include the formation of a primary health advisory group, which will consult on primary care funding models and how best to meet the needs of patients with chronic illnesses and mental health problems.
Doctors will need to prove they are meeting benchmarks and complying with the Medicare system to stamp out what Ley said was “the small number” of medical professionals who misuse the system.
Chief executive of the Consumers Health Forum, Leanne Wells, supported the wide-ranging audit.
“This is a long overdue opportunity to modernise Medicare so it can provide truly patient-centred care and better funding arrangements in this era of growing chronic illness. We welcome the opportunity to join clinical leaders to co-design Medicare for the 21st century,” she said.
Labor has previously backed the review on rebates but only if the money saved is pumped back into the health system.
“These cannot and should not be savings for savings sake. It is critical that the focus of such reviews is on quality and safety and that any savings are reinvested back into the healthcare system, and particularly in areas of healthcare reform,” shadow health minister Catherine King said.