The Federal Department of Health has advised that targeted compliance letters regarding the Child Dental Benefits Schedule (CDBS) will be sent to a small number of dentists asking them to review their processes and ensure their claiming meets the MBS requirements in late March 2022.
The dentists who are the subjects of these audits have been identified as claiming a higher volume of CDBS services in comparison to other providers between 1 June 2020 and 31 May 2021.
Acknowledging that there may be legitimate clinical reasons to explain the higher volume of treatments, the Department's intention is to ensure every dentist using the service is fully aware of the requirements when claiming CDBS items.
Each letter will include a list of CDBS services claimed during the specified period with recipients asked to review the listed services to ensure their claims are correct.
Where a claim is identified to have not met the CDBS criteria, dentists must:
- Identify the incorrect payments via the supplied Voluntary Acknowledgement of Incorrect Payments form and repay these to the department.
- Consider providing an explanation to the department for any claims you believe to be correct at [email protected]
If you receive a letter and would like assistance before responding, please reach out to your local Branch for support.
