Several current and former patients of Kure Medical group in Mildura say they have paid a yearly subscription fee and then been bulk-billed for individual appointments.
Kure Medical in Mildura, which has alleged ties to collapsed GP corporate chain Tristar, has been accused by media outlets of running a questionable subscription model in one of its regional clinics.
Tristar Medical Group, which once operated 59 clinics across the country – mostly in regional areas – went into voluntary administration in May 2022.
At that time, the company owed $6.3 million to employees across its 12 remaining clinics and a further $17 million to various other creditors.
Previous Tristar employees and contractors have told media outlets over the years that they had been encouraged by higher-ups at the company to be “creative” in attempts to avoid having to repay PIP money after failing to meet program criteria.
According to Nine Newspapers, the company “systematically rorted Medicare over a number of years”, in part by overstating the length of some consults in order to claim higher rebates.
Tristar was headquartered in Mildura and run by Dr Khaled El-Sheikh.
As reported by the ABC on Thursday, Kure Medical’s Mildura location charged patients a $220 membership fee to access 12 months of bulk-billed care.
This arrangement could contravene section 20A of the Health Insurance Act 1973, which dictates that doctors must accept the Medicare benefit as full payment for a service when bulk billing. MBS note GN7.17 also specifically advises that annual administration or registration fees are not compatible with bulk billing.
While Kure Medical Group was never owned by Tristar directly, Tristar did have a wholly owned subsidiary called Kure Medical Solutions, which was also headquartered in Mildura.
Its logo bears a similarity to the Kure Medical Group logo.
Tristar founder Dr El-Sheik is listed as practicing at the Kure Mildura and Red Cliffs clinics.
In September 2022, Mildura MP Dr Anne Webster used her parliamentary privilege to allege that Dr El-Sheikh’s brother was running these two clinics.
“This plan had undoubtedly begun months ago,” she said.
“Dr El-Sheikh is today advertising his new practice on Facebook, calling it the Kure Clinic, which is now open, where previous Tristar doctors are joining him.
“This kind of business behaviour ought never to happen in Australia.
“However, the current dearth of doctors in regional centres means unscrupulous business practice can follow.”
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ASIC records indicate that Kure Medical Group is not registered under Dr El-Sheikh’s name.
Kure Medical Group was contacted for comment.
