Media headlines declaring doctors rort Medicare for $8 billion a year have no factual support, yet accidental non-compliance is costing taxpayers at least $580 million a year, a review suggests.  

Nine newspapers quoted the $8 billion figure last year after interviewing researcher Dr Margaret Faux (PhD) who said she estimated that 30% of the Medicare budget was disappearing as a result of fraud and inappropriate claiming by doctors.

An independent review into the allegation was then commissioned by the Federal Government.

Led by health economist Dr Pradeep Philip (PhD), the review published on Tuesday “conservatively” estimated that $582 million a year was leaking from the Medicare budget through non-compliant billing — mostly the result of mistakes resulting from the complexity of the system.