A $24 million website meant to let Australians compare costs of medical procedures has only been used by 20 doctors nationwide to display their fees, it has been revealed.
Medical Costs Finder, a $2.5 million initiative launched in 2019 under the Coalition, was intended to allow patients to shop around for affordable care.
The former government allocated a further $17 million in 2020 to enhance the website and encourage individual doctors to list their fees, in an attempt to give patients greater transparency around out-of-pocket costs.
But a Senate Estimates hearing on Thursday heard that so far only 20 doctors had voluntarily listed their fees, equating to, in the words of independent Senator David Pocock, “over a million dollars per doctor on the website”.
The revelation, which is reminiscent of the Rudd Labor government’s failed GroceryWatch and FuelWatch websites, came while the ACT Senator was quizzing Health Department officials about the “astounding” out-of-pocket surgery costs paid by private patients in the territory, citing data from Private Healthcare Australia.
According to the private health insurance peak body, ACT residents pay at least 50 per cent more than other parts of the country — a typical knee replacement in the ACT costs $4508, cataract surgery $1575, prostate surgery $2568, shoulder reconstruction $3500 and gallbladder surgery $2165.
Mr Pocock said he found the difference “staggering”, noting that gallbladder removal in other states costs $600 or less.
Health Department deputy secretary Penny Shakespeare replied that the higher out-of-pocket costs were a result of prices set by individual surgeons, and recommended patients use Medical Costs Finder to compare fees.
When Mr Pocock then asked how many doctors’ fees were shown on the website, he was left stunned when Health Department official Brian Kelleher confirmed the national number was just 20.
“Ms Shakespeare, you just told me people can go to the website and see the different fees and make their mind up and now you tell me your website has 20 doctors in Australia with their fees,” Mr Pocock said, as first reported by The Guardian.
Ms Shakespeare replied, “There are different parts to the website. There are individual doctors able to disclose their particular fees and then we have average fees broken down by jurisdictions.”
The Senator pressed, “How does that assist people to shop around if there’s 20 doctors with their fees?”
Mr Kelleher said 640,000 people had visited the website, which provides information on 1300 medical items and 150 services, but Mr Pocock suggested “the vast majority of people who visit (are) bitterly disappointed”.
Health Minister Mark Butler pointed the finger at the Coalition.
“The former government did nothing to make the Medical Costs Finder a useful tool for consumers,” Mr Butler said in a statement on Friday.
“It’s a service that has been left gathering dust and doesn’t provide transparency of out-of-pocket costs. I’ve asked my department for advice on how we can improve the current Medical Costs Finder and transparency.”
Mr Butler said the government was “committed to working with consumers, the colleges and private health providers to improve transparency of out-of-pocket costs for medical specialist services”.
The opposition has been contacted for comment.
Morgan Begg, director of policy at the Institute of Public Affairs, said the fact that “millions of dollars have been wasted on a frivolous medical cost finder website is yet another reminder of the utter disregard governments have for the money which belongs to hardworking taxpayers”.
“This latest example follows the revelations the NDIS has wasted $2 billion on items not in client packages, but has instead been spent on cars, holiday, and even illegal drugs, as well as over $600,000 on a speechwriter,” he said.
“The federal government continues to find new innovating ways to waste our money in the midst of a cost-of-living crisis on things that don’t actually provide a service or benefit to the community at all.”
In a statement on Thursday, Private Healthcare Australia called on the government to force doctors to list their fees on the website.
The peak body said its data showed out-of-pocket costs for common procedures in private hospitals had increased by up to 300 per cent over the last five years.
“It’s simply not possible for health funds to continually chase rising out-of-pocket costs without contributing to hyperinflation in health, which leads to higher premiums,” said Private Healthcare Australia chief executive Dr Rachel David.
“With cost of living hurting and medical out of pocket fees spiralling, it’s time for the government to intervene and publish doctors’ fees on the Medical Cost Finder website. In Senate Estimates today it also was revealed that only 20 doctors had listed their fees on the Medical Costs Finder website, which cost taxpayers $24.2 million to set up. As ACT Senator David Pocock pointed out — that’s $1 million per doctor.”
Dr David said consumers “should be able to check what doctors are charging and shop around, even if it means crossing state borders”.
“Paying more for treatment doesn’t guarantee a better outcome,” she said.
“We need to do everything possible to protect consumers with private health insurance from bill shock. This will keep our private sector strong and keep pressure off the public system.”
frank.chung@news.com.au