Health Minister Sussan Ley has announced the launch of a review of the 5,700 medical services subsidised under the Medicare Benefits Schedule (MBS).

The weekend’s announcement has already led to speculation that more restrictions could be placed on a range of medical tests and subsidised procedures.

“There are examples that see too many procedures for a particular cohort of patients with little evidence of benefit,” Ms Ley told reporters.

“The Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care has, for example, drawn our attention to knee arthroscopy — examination of the knee joint.

“Another example is lower back pain — a lot of people with lower back pain get sent for a barrage of scans, when really, the evidence is telling us now that physiotherapy and exercise are probably the first line of treatment.”

Labor health spokesperson Catherine King said it was just another attack on the health system by the LNP.

“The Government is going about this like a bull in a china shop,” Ms King told the ABC.

“To come out and say that every single Medicare Benefit Schedule item is on the table, potential cuts to Medicare benefit items basically means that there will be patients who will suffer as a result of this cut.

“They also need to have brought the professions along with them, so the colleges, the associations, all of the people who are out there on the coalface every single day, talking to patients, conducting these procedures ... if you don't bring them with you, basically what you're going to end up [with] is at loggerheads with the profession.”

Services earmarked for review also include bone mineral density testing for older people and colonoscopies.

The review is being carried out by groups of doctors and other medical experts across Australia.

Ms Ley said the Health Department was seeking public feedback too.

“Only patients know if they actually benefit from what happens and get better or whether they are unwell and incapacitated for a long time for no real improvement,” she said.