Call for doctors to face criminal charges for hiding full fees
Private Healthcare Australia wants new laws to criminalise the practice of split billing that aims to disguise the true cost of procedures
Private health insurers are lobbying for new laws that would see doctors face criminal charges if they fail to disclose their full fees, including rebates received from Medicare.
Private Healthcare Australia (PHA) wants the Federal Government to combat surprise billing, where patients incur charges they are not expecting or are unaware of.
It says ‘split billing’ – where doctors separately bill the patient and their private insurer and claim the Medicare rebate to hide the total upfront cost — should become a criminal offence.
The body gives the example of a $2000 procedure, where the doctor bills the insurer $250, claims a $750 Medicare rebate and then charges the patient $1000.
