1 April Medicare Billing in Public Hospitals update April 1, 2021 By Miranda Grace Announcement, Department of Health, DHS, MBS, Services Australia 0 The Australian Government Department of Health has updated its webpage, Medicare Billing in Public Hospitals. The department has concerns around duplicate payments, where MBS payments are made for services already funded under the National Health Reform Agreement. Improving our online guidance material to strengthen provider education on appropriate Medicare billing in public hospitals is a key part of addressing these concerns. Related Articles New education guide for Medicare billing for immunisations Use this new guide as a quick reference to support you with Medicare billing for immunisations. Medicare bulk billing rate hits historic 86.1 per cent A record amount of Australians are visiting their doctor without having to pay a cent with the latest Medicare data confirming almost nine out of every ten services were fully bulk-billed. Reforms to Medicare compliance– firmer but fairer? Law reforms introduced from 1 July 2018 have given Medicare stronger debt recovery powers. The legislation also provides for fairer approaches to compliance, by apportioning responsibility for overpayments between both doctors and their employers or contractors, including public hospitals. Minister for Health, Greg Hunt said the legislation aims to deal with the “very, very small number of outliers” who don’t comply, at the same time acknowledging “the outstanding degree of integrity” among the medical workforce when the Act was being reviewed by Parliament. Independent review of health providers’ access to Medicare card numbers This review examined access by Health professionals to Medicare card numbers by using the Health Professional Online Services (HPOS) system or by calling the Department of Human Services. The Department of Human Services has updated the PBS education guides. ATAGI: Australian Immunisation Handbook Updates Comments are closed.