Gov Medicare clampdown fails, costs gov money

Following the UK's example of a gov bureaucracy totally fucking up investigating how eligible people were for welfare, we have another brilliant example of another gov bureaucracy totally fucking up investigating how eligible people are for welfare. In this case it was the Australian Medicare system where there was a big clampdown on doctors who it had been alleged some of them were ripping off the system. Or dreaming up consultations to get the Medicare $35 or so payment to doctors for seeing patients. You know, those doctors that had spent years in uni to get to where they are now, who apparently dreamed up some new way to rip off taxpayers for $35. Obviously this must have been the pinnacle aim of their doctor career?

OK so it was another stupid failure. This was the Rudd Labor gov that started this particular investigation. It turned up fuck all. The gov outlay was way more than any money gained. Either the gov bureaucracy was incapable of doing such an investigation (likely as they're stepping into a situation from outside of it) or there weren't anywhere near the amount of doctors doing the wrong thing by the taxpayer as was imagined. I reckon a bit of both of the above.

Whatever the case, going after money that is so called ripped off, isn't going to bring any expected savings some gov may imagine. In the above case the Rudd gov, which whatever you say about it you'd have to say was very thorough. 

So what expected savings does the gov expect to get by some big clampdown on pensioners? I'd bet my bottom dollar that it won't be anywhere near what they think. In the end, the clampdown itself will cost more than any random savings. Yes that's right people, we on the DSP are genuine. People who aren't either don't get on it or are generally caught out. There is no crisis of rip off pensioners.

In 2008, the Rudd government allocated $77 million over four years to the Department of Human Services to increase the number of audits it completed on doctors' Medicare claiming each year from 500 to 2500. The audits, which examine whether doctors are actually delivering the services they are billing Medicare for, was supposed to recover $147 million to deliver a net saving of $70 million. 

But a report on the program by the Australian National Audit Office, tabled in Federal Parliament on Wednesday, showed the department identified incorrect claims of $49 million while actually recovering less than $19 million over this period, leaving a shortfall of more than $128 million. 

"The available Human Services data shows that overall there was a shortfall of $128.3 million in savings [monies recovered] against the budget initiative's savings target - some 87 per cent less than the $147.2 million in expected savings," the Auditor-General, Ian McPhee wrote. 

"Even if all debts raised were recovered, there would remain a shortfall of $98 million or 66 per cent less than the expected savings." 

"The ANAO’s analysis indicates the program of additional compliance audits funded under the budget measure was delivered at a net cost to the Australian government and did not represent a positive financial return on its investment." Read more