EXPLANATORY STATEMENT

 

Select Legislative Instrument 2007 No. 311

 

Subject: Health Insurance Act 1973

 

Health Insurance Amendment Regulations 2007 (No. 5)

 

Subsection 133(1) of the Health Insurance Act 1973 (the Act) provides, in part, that the

Governor-General may make regulations, not inconsistent with the Act, prescribing all matters required or permitted by the Act to be prescribed, or necessary or convenient to be prescribed for carrying out or giving effect to the Act.

 

Section 3D of the Act provides for the recognition of members of certain organisations as specialists for the purpose of attracting Medicare rebates at the specialist level. These organisations are specified under Schedule 4 to the Health Insurance Regulations 1975 (the Principal Regulations).

 

Private sector training is becoming a larger component of specialist training across all disciplines, and access to Medicare items is essential in order not to impede effective training. The Department of Health and Ageing (the Department) has been working with the specialist medical colleges to diversify specialist training with placements in the private sector. Fee-for-service arrangements involving Medicare eligible services are vital to the funding of these training placements.

 

Part 1 of Schedule 5 to the Principal Regulations lists bodies and qualifications so that specialist trainees may be added to the Register of Approved Placements maintained by Medicare Australia, in order to enable those trainees to access Medicare rebates. Medicare will issue a medical practitioner in an approved placement whose name is on the Register with a provider number in order to access Medicare benefits from the location at which the placement has been approved.

 

The purpose of the Regulations is to amend Part 1 of Schedule 5 to the Principal Regulations so that anaesthetic, intensive care, pain medicine, and palliative medicine specialist trainees will be able to provide Medicare-eligible services whilst on private sector placements. The Regulations also correct one minor typographical error in Schedule 4 to the Principal Regulations.

 

Details of the Regulations are set out in the Attachment.

 

The Department advised the specialist colleges listed in Part 1 of Schedule 5 that it intended updating the Schedule and sought feedback on whether their listing required updating. It also sought feedback from the Australian and New Zealand College of Anaesthetists regarding the accuracy of its proposed listing. In addition, the Department consulted with Medicare Australia and the Office of Best Practice Regulation.

 

The Act specifies no conditions that need to be met before the power to make the Regulations may be exercised.

 

The Regulations are a legislative instrument for the purposes of the Legislative Instruments Act 2003.

 

The Regulations commence on the day after they are registered on the Federal Register of Legislative Instruments.

ATTACHMENT

 

Details of the Health Insurance Amendment Regulations 2007 (No. 5)

 

Regulation 1 provides for the Regulations to be referred to as the Health Insurance Amendment Regulations 2007 (No. 5).

 

Regulation 2 provides for the Regulations to commence the day after they are registered on the Federal Register of Legislative Instruments.

 

Regulation 3 provides that Schedule 1 amends the Health Insurance Regulations 1975 (the Principal Regulations).

 

Schedule 1 – Amendments

 

Item [1]

 

Schedule 4, item 109, columns 2 and 4

 

This item amends a typographic error by omitting the word Australasian and inserting Australian to reflect the correct name of the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Radiologists.

 

Item [2]

 

Schedule 5, Part 1

 

This item substitutes the list of specified bodies to add four new bodies and qualifications. Anaesthetic medicine, intensive care medicine, pain medicine, and palliative medicine have previously been recognised as medical specialties, and added to Schedule 4. Their addition to Schedule 5, Part 1 allows specialist trainees in those disciplines to access Medicare items whilst on approved private sector training places.

 

This item also updates the listings for a number of bodies and courses to reflect changes in their names since their last entry, to rectify an incorrect listing, or to remove a defunct qualification.