SEX ON THE HEALTH SERVICE
Probe finds medical massage girls give happy finish to patients
DODGY massage shops are offering customers SEX as part of their taxpayer-subsidised treatment.
An undercover sting operation discovered that several massage shops eligible for health rebates are offering “happy endings”.
Mystery shopping investigators have found staff stripping naked and offering lewd acts.
One man offered sexual favours turned around to find the female staffer had taken off her top.
Insurance company HBF said it had been investigating massage shops offering health rebates – which are partly taxpayer-funded through Australian Federal Government subsidies – to flush out providers not properly trained.
In one case an undercover compliance officer was booked to have massages at two premises but had to cancel the second one because his back was left so bruised from the first.
HBF’s head of business integrity, Wayne Stone, said it had also investigated several complaints from horrified members who claimed they were offered sexual favours.
“In one case the woman doing the massage made it quite clear to our team member what was possible,” he said.
“These are clearly happy-ending clinics. Some even have the massage sign in flashing red lights out the front and are still open past 9pm.”
Some of the staff at the massage outfits in the Western Australian city of Perth appeared to be young Asian women on student visas.
The fund has deregistered some providers and confiscated their electronic health claim machines that allowed customers to get an instant rebate from health funds.
Mr Stone added: “Clearly this is not something we as a health fund should be paying for.”