Bonded Medical Program: Govt reduces penalties for doctors amid questions over scholarship scheme’s future
The RDAA says it will fail to address the scheme’s core problems.
The Federal Government is removing the threat of a Medicare ban for doctors who fail to complete return of service obligations amid multiple changes to the Bonded Medical Program.
However, the RDAA says the moves fail to address the scheme’s core problems, while the Opposition says the legislation marks “complete destruction” of the program’s intentions.
More than 550 Bonded Medical Program (BMP) participants who switched from the Medical Rural Bonded Scholarship Scheme in 2020 had faced potential six-year Medicare bans if they failed to complete their return of service obligation (RoSO).
However, the changes legislated last week removed this threat, which the Department of Health, Disability and Ageing said had never been used.
