Government is making much of the claim that this measure will gain $147.2 million over four years.

But lets look at the facts.

The only certainty in this measure is that $76.9 million will be spent and a vast new bureaucracy will be built.  

When asked about the assumptions made to come up with the $147.2 million figure, the government admitted that the figure was a ‘best guess’.

Based on the $76.9 in spending, each audit will cost about $9600. On the ‘guestimated’ saving, each audit will then need to recover about $18000. Yet a recent 10 hour audit conducted on one frustrated doctor recovered the princely sum of $78.05.

Even in the unlikely event that government can achieve it’s savings ‘guestimates’, the plan that strips away the privacy of patients nation wide will deliver $70.4 million over four years. That’s $17.6 million a year, about 0.13 percent of the Medicare budgetm, or about 80 cents per Australian per year.

This legislation sells the privacy of every Australian for 80 cents a year.