Chalmers said the revelations were “very troubling” and the government would get to the bottom of the issue.
“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.
“My view is if you’re stealing from Medicare or the NDIS,you’re a grub.”
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.
AMA president Professor Steve Robson said doctors would be sickened by the reports,labelling them “an undeserved attack on the whole profession”.
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“The AMA works closely with the Department of Health on compliance and we have never seen any concerns or numbers that would support the figures reported today,” he said in a statement.
“We do not tolerate fraud and examples of fraud should be tackled and stamped out – but the figures reported today are grossly inflated.”
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.
“It means that money that is not exactly thick on the ground in the budget is not going to people who need it. We don’t have money to waste on these programs. If it’s being rorted and thieved,let’s get to the bottom of it[and] make sure we’ve got the best arrangements,” Chalmers said.
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“We do need to do more work here to make sure that our defences against people who want to rort and thieve from government programs are cracked down on,and so we will do that work.”
Shorten,who is responsible for the administration of payments,said governments needed to “lift their game in terms of payments integrity”.
“Wherever there’s government money,you’ve got to be vigilant about making sure that on one hand the right people are getting it,and on the other hand the wrong people aren’t taking advantage,” Shorten told the Nine Network’sToday show on Monday morning.
Shorten flagged measures to beef up the back offices of the payment systems to make sure more checks and balances could be put in place.
Cut through the noise of federal politics with news,views and expert analysis from Jacqueline Maley. Subscribers can sign up to our weekly Inside Politics newsletterhere.