Commonwealth Numbered Regulations - Explanatory Statements

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HEALTH INSURANCE (GENERAL MEDICAL SERVICES TABLE) AMENDMENT REGULATIONS 2004 (NO. 4) 2004 NO. 183

Subsection 133(1) of the Health Insurance Act 1973 (the Act) provides 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.

The Act provides, in part, for payment of Medicare benefits in respect of professional services rendered to eligible persons. Section 9 of the Act provides that Medicare benefits shall be calculated by reference to the fees for medical services set out in prescribed Tables.

Subsection 4 (1) of the Act provides that the regulations may prescribe a table of medical services (other than diagnostic imaging services and pathology services) that sets out items of medical services, the amount of fees applicable in respect of each item and rules for interpretation of the table. The Health Insurance (General Medical Services Table) Regulations 2003 (the Principal Regulations) currently prescribe such a table.

The Regulations amend the definition of "general practitioner" in the Rules of Interpretation contained in Part 2 of Schedule 1 to the Principal Regulations, in order to expand the current definition of "general practitioner" to include medical practitioners in the

Pre-vocational General Practice Placements Program (the Program). The Program will be administered by the Australian College of Rural and Remote Medicine, the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners or General Practice Education and Training Limited.

The purpose of the Regulations is to allow services provided by a medical practitioner who is undertaking a placement in general practice as part of the Program, to attract the full Medicare rebate, being the same rate as that for services provided by practitioners who are vocationally registered under section 3F of the Act.

In November 2003, the Australian Government announced a range of measures to strengthen Medicare. The Program is one of those measures. It is designed to provide junior doctors with an opportunity to undertake a supervised general practice placement in outer metropolitan, regional, rural and remote areas and aims to encourage doctors to take up general practice, particularly in these areas.

Details of the Regulations are set out in the Attachment.

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

The Regulations commence on 1 July 2004.

ATTACHMENT

Details of the Health Insurance (General Medical Services Table) Amendment Regulations 2004 (No. 4).

Regulation 1 provides for the Regulations to be referred to as the Health Insurance (General Medical Services Table) Amendment Regulations 2004 (No. 4).

Regulation 2 provides for the Regulations to commence on 1 July 2004.

Regulation 3 provides that the Health Insurance (General Medical Services Table) Regulation 2003 be amended as set out in Schedule 1.

Schedule 1 - Amendments

Item [1]

This item inserts a definition, defining ACRRM to mean the Australian College of Rural and Remote Medicine.

Items [2] and [3]

These items amend the definition of general practitioner to include a practitioner who is undertaking a placement in general practice as part of the Pre-vocational General Practice Placements Program administered by the Australian College of Rural and Remote Medicine, the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners or General Practice Education and Training Limited.

Item [4]

This item inserts a definition, defining GPET to mean the body registered under the Corporations Act 2001 as General Practice Education and Training Limited

(ACN 095 433 140).