Telehealth company bulk-billing patients at the same time as charging a fee, documents show

Systemic rorting of Medicare is artificially inflating official statistics to indicate almost nine out of 10 patients are bulk-billed by their doctor and don't pay any out-of-pocket costs. Key points: Phenix Health has bulk-billed some patients at the same time as charging them a fee, documents show On its booking form, patients are required to "consent to bill" Some cases included charges to Medicare that overstate the length of the consultation A joint investigation into Medicare by ABC's 7.30, The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age has found errors and illegal practices by health practitioners are distorting the national figures. Leaked documents show one of the country's largest telehealth companies, Phenix Health, has bulk-billed some patients at the same time as charging them a fee, a practice that is illegal under the Health Insurance Act. When asked about Phenix after patients contacted 7.30, the Herald and The Age with concerns, Dr Faux said the Synapse billing service had processed more than 30,000 Medicare bulk-billing claims from Phenix over a two-year period to August this year. However, Dr Faux said Phenix, which boasts on its website that it is Australia's "highest quality virtual super clinic", had 29 GPs and 20 nurse practitioners actively bulk-billing on the Synapse system when it was a client, up until August this year.