Gavin Pearce (Braddon, Liberal Party, Shadow Assistant Minister for Health, Aged Care and Indigenous Health Services) Share this | Hansard source

I acknowledge the previous speaker and his service that he has provided over a lifetime. In fact, to all of those in the chamber from all sides, I recognise your contribution to the medical fraternity this afternoon. I rise to speak on the Health Legislation Amendment (Medicare Compliance and Other Measures) Bill 2022. The bill amends the Health Insurance Act of 1973, the National Health Act of 1953 and the Dental Benefits Act of 2008. In broad terms, the bill aims to protect the viability and ongoing integrity of Medicare, it includes the Medicare Benefits Scheme and Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme.

Australia has a world-class system. Our provision of health care to all Australians is the envy of most nations. But this is something we should never take for granted. Medicare is something that we must protect. The Liberal and Nationals government demonstrated our steadfast commitment to affordable health care for all the Austrians during our nine years in government. Even during the most significant economic and health crisis that our country has seen in over 100 years, our commitment to provide health services that Australians expect remained resolute. The coalition was able to continue to invest in our nation's health services, even during dire economic headwinds, because our economic response to COVID and the pandemic was also world-leading. In March, the coalition delivered the largest and fastest improvement in the budget bottom line in over 70 years, and this improvement allowed us to commit to the largest investment health services in history. This was demonstrated through our ongoing commitment to Medicare.

The Liberal and Nationals government was committed to investing $133 billion over four years in Medicare, including $31.4 billion in 2022-23—an increase of $7.3 billion compared to the 2021-22 budget. We committed $32.3 billion in 2023-24, $33.9 billion in 2024-25, and $35½ billion in 2025-26. The coalition oversaw record investment in Medicare. Importantly, this investment ensured that all Australians had access to healthcare services, no matter where they lived, whether they lived in the city or the bush, and no matter how old they were.

Medicare and the PBS form the cornerstone of Australia's universal health system. Medicare provides free or subsidised access to most healthcare services for all Australians. The Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme, PBS, delivers affordable life-saving medications to all Australians. In fact, in our term of government, we delivered around 2,900 new or amended listings on the PBS at an overall investment of around $16½ billion. Where I live, we used to call it the 'PB-Yes' rather than the PBS. The coalition's commitment to list every recommended drug ensured that Australians had access to affordable, life-saving medications that would otherwise cost thousands or sometimes hundreds of thousands of dollars without the PBS subsidy.

In relation to the bill, this supports the integrity of the Medicare Benefits Schedule, the Pharmaceutical Benefits Schedule and the Child Dental Benefits Schedule by addressing inappropriate practice, protecting payment integrity, encouraging compliance with claiming requirements and supporting consistency. This bill is the same legislation introduced by the former coalition government, in the 46th Parliament, by the Health Legislation Amendment (Medicare Compliance and Other Measures) Bill 2021. That bill was not debated and it lapsed upon dissolution of the parliament. Our bill reflected the coalition's commitment to protecting the integrity and financial viability of Medicare, ensuring that all Australians had access to our world-leading health system.

I want to acknowledge our hardworking, dedicated health professionals, as I did at the beginning of my address. They work tirelessly to continue to provide the care our local communities so desperately need. That care is often given in the face of enormous challenges whilst, in the vast majority of cases, much more than they can ever be remunerated for. There are a very small number who do not. I acknowledge that sometimes oversights and administrative errors occur. I want to assure our healthcare sector and all those hardworking folk I just described that this bill is not striving to correct minor oversights.

We must be careful, in this conversation we're having right now, that we don't paint every hardworking general practitioner with the same brush. In fact, our government had a strong track record of supporting hardworking healthcare professionals and peak bodies to correctly claim healthcare payments, with a clear focus on education, engagement and consultation. But we need to weed out our fraudulent or abusive practitioners who take advantage of our nation's Medicare system. Australians rightly expect that their hard-earned tax dollars are being used appropriately and effectively, particularly when they are spent in our health system, which is facing increasing pressures. To safeguard the ongoing viability of Medicare, however, we must ensure that our compliance system is rigorous enough to identify those who choose to abuse the system. We must protect, at all cost, the integrity of the Medicare system.

The primary intention of the bill is to strengthen the compliance and powers of the Professional Services Review, the PSR, which is the agency responsible for reviewing and examining possible and appropriate practices relating to Medicare or the PBS, and add a degree of flexibility to the PSR's ability to address any inappropriate practice or practices. The bill proposes to make a number of changes to the Commonwealth health provider compliance program to strengthen the ability of the Commonwealth, to recover debts owed by healthcare providers and those who have engaged in inappropriate practice.

The most significant amendments include new sanctions and increased maximum penalties for body corporates and non-practitioners. The bill comprises one schedule that is divided into four parts. Part 1 amends the HIA to provide for a number of amendments to the operation of the Professional Services Review scheme, including allowing the director of the PSR to enter agreements with body corporates.

Part 2 amends the HIA, NHA and DBA to clarify that a person or body corporate owing a debt to the Commonwealth may only make one application to the Administrative Appeals Tribunal with respect to a reconsidered decision or a notice of reassessment or a shared debt determination, even when multiple garnishees notices have been issued in relation to the said debt. Part 3 makes a number of amendments to the HIA, NHA and DBA to clarify the Commonwealth's debt recovery arrangements following the passage of the Health Legislation Amendment (Improve Medicare compliance and Other Measures) Bill 2018. Finally, part 4 amends the HIA, NHA and DBA to replace references in those acts to making a false or misleading statement, with references to the giving of false or misleading information.

In conclusion, it's one of my greatest privileges to regularly meet with representatives of our great healthcare sector. They are always willing to take on the heavy lifting. They are always there in our time of need. Over the past three years we've called on their services like never before. Day in, day out they have been there on the front line of the COVID pandemic. Their dedication cannot be overstated or repaid, and it is important to note that this bill in no way impacts our incredible health providers who are practising legitimately. I want to recognise that most are going above and beyond to provide the level of care that their patients so desperately need, often forgoing their own full wage or personal time in order to deliver that care.

But we must be continually mindful of further burdening our already overstretched healthcare providers with additional regulation or complexity in an already complex Medicare system. Therefore I acknowledge and welcome the government's commitment that they will continue to support the coalition provided practitioners and healthcare organisations who comply with their obligations, with a focus on education as well as ongoing engagement with peak bodies. However, where benefits are incorrectly or fraudulently paid, it is vital to the public interest that the Commonwealth expenditure is protected and that those debts are recovered. This will support further investments in health initiatives that all Australians will benefit from.

Once again the Albanese Labor government is demonstrating its commitment to passing copies of coalition legislation. In doing so the government has recognised that the coalition were leaders when it comes to this important healthcare policy and improving the sustainability of Australia's world-class health system for the benefit of all Australians. The opposition will support the passage of this legislation.

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