Reports this week say around $8 billion a year is lost to Medicare fraud and waste. 

A joint investigation says flaws in Medicare's systems are making it easy to rort and almost impossible to detect fraud, incorrect payments and errors.

Up to 30 per cent of Medicare's annual budget, or about $8 billion a year, is estimated to be lost this way.

Health Minister Mark Butler asked his department to provide him with an analysis of the situation. 

“Australians know that the overwhelming bulk of Australia's doctors and health professionals are honest, hardworking and comply with Medicare rules,” Mr Butler said this week. 

“But they also understand that, after nine years of cuts and neglect, every dollar in Medicare is precious and must be spent directly on patient care.

“All governments must apply strict compliance standards to any publicly funded system - including Medicare - to ensure that the small minority that do the wrong thing are picked up quickly and dealt with.”

The Australian Medical Association (AMA) has described the findings of the media investigation as an “unjustified slur” on the profession.

“Doctors will be sickened by today's reporting which is an undeserved attack on the whole profession based very much on anecdotes and individual cases,” AMA President Steve Robson said.

“Australia's doctors have worked incredibly hard through COVID - treating Australians during lockdown, rolling out the nation's vaccine efforts, putting themselves at risk every day to treat COVID patients on the front line - so today's coverage is as appalling as it is inaccurate.

“We do not tolerate fraud and examples of fraud should be tackled and stamped out — but the figures reported today are grossly inflated.”