Federal government introduces Medical Costs Finder legislation
The AMA acknowledges the federal government’s move to expand transparency by publishing Medicare, hospital, and insurer billing data on the Medical Costs Finder website.
Legislation introduced this week would allow the government to publish details about what individual specialists charge for particular medical services, what Medicare rebate is paid and what the private health insurer contribution is. The AMA has pushed very hard for Medicare rebates and insurer benefits to be including on the Medical Costs Finder so that patients get the full picture of why they may face an out-of-pocket cost.
Ahead of the 2025 federal election, the AMA welcomed Labor’s commitment to upgrade the Medical Costs Finder and has long advocated for the portal as a practical tool to help patients better understand the cost of care.
The AMA has worked closely with the Department of Health, Disability and Ageing to ensure functional improvements are made to the website. Consultation on the implementation of Medical Costs Finder legislation will be essential, and we raised this issue with Health Minister Mark Butler and the department this week and have been given that commitment.
We are pleased to see the federal government’s legislation will also outlaw insurer “product phoenixing” — a deceptive practice used by some private health insurers to extract higher premiums from consumers.
Product phoenixing involves closing an insurance product and re‑launching an essentially identical product at a higher price.
The AMA has consistently called for this practice to be banned and welcomes the government’s action to put an end to it.
