Aussie Surgeons at Odds With Insurers

The Australian Medical Association has brushed off a report alleging 20 percent of surgeries result in infection or other complications.

The report, produced by the private health insurer Medibank Private, claims that problems caused by medical errors and poor quality prostheses mean additional treatment is often required after surgery.

But AMA President Dr. Mukesh Haikerwal says health insurers simply do not like paying out certain claims.

The costs to insurers of prostheses, of things like cardiac stents, are causing them some grief, Haikerwal told the Australian Broadcasting Corp. at the end of the day … it has to be a medically driven process, not a fiscally driven process.