Cosmetic Surgery Bulk Billed

[Guest The Pom Queen]

I just want to say if anyone knows of any Drs who do this please let me know, purely research only :wink:(although a boob reduction and tummy tuck wouldn't go a miss)

 

ROGUE doctors are charging Medicare for consultations on vanity cosmetic procedures.

Taxpayers are footing the bill for consultations about Botox, laser procedures, breast implants and liposuction.

Bulk billing for unnecessary clinical procedures is illegal.

A Herald Sun investigation found:

* One clinic encouraged a client who sought Botox injections for a wrinkled forehead to fake a headache so he could bill the consultation to Medicare.

* Another clinic claimed armpit injections could be billed to the taxpayer if the patient sought the procedure claiming to suffer excessive sweating.

* One surgeon boasted initial GP sessions were bulk-billed "so you don't have to pay, it's free".

Medicare and Victoria's Health Services Commissioner said the practice would be investigated.

Tony Webber, former head of Medicare watchdog the Professional Standards Review, has long feared the system was vulnerable to such rorts.

"If the entire consultation is about cosmetic surgery, if that is why the patient presented and there were no other medical issues discussed, then it would not qualify for Medicare benefits," Dr Webber said.

"It's such a difficult area because you can charge a normal consultation and, in that procedure, be giving a Botox injection and no one is going to be the wiser.

"We just don't know how many of these things go through Medicare."

Last year Medicare paid out $1.7 million for nose jobs, breast augmentation, facelifts and laser surgery. More than $350,00 in benefits went to Victoria.

Medicare covers these procedures only where they arise from trauma or disability - not elective cosmetic desire.

Health Services Commissioner Beth Wilson said she had heard of the rort but was unable to say how big a problem it was.

"Doctors should not risk their good reputations and the trust the public has in doctors," Ms Wilson said.

"It's important that these resources are shared in the best possible way and doctors, if they are doing the wrong thing, then they need to be called into account."

The Herald Sun found some cosmetic surgeries were spruiking a $72 rebate on a $165 consultation.

The Medicare Practitioner Review Program found anomalies in the books of 298 doctors last year, 82 in Victoria.