Strengthen the integrity of the Medicare system in response to key recommendations of the Independent Review into Medicare Integrity and Compliance (Philip Review).
The Government will provide $29.8 million over 4 years from 2023-24 to strengthen the integrity of the Medicare system in response to key recommendations of the Independent Review into Medicare Integrity and Compliance (Philip Review). A taskforce will be established in the Department of Health and Aged Care to identify and disrupt instances of fraud and serious non-compliance before they occur. The taskforce will also produce immediate policy and legislative amendments, including to: * limit the duration of backdated patient-billed claims through practices, to prevent fraudulent claims being submitted through practices * permit appropriate data sharing with Services Australia to allow entities and bank accounts associated with known fraud to be blocked from receiving claims payments * enable the Department of Health and Aged Care to audit providers by removing the requirement for external consultation with peak bodies to occur before issuing a notice to produce. The Government may consider additional measures to improve Medicare integrity in response to the Philip Review, pending consideration of broader policy aspects.