Commonwealth Numbered Regulations - Explanatory Statements

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NATIONAL HEALTH AMENDMENT REGULATIONS 2001 (NO. 3) 2001 NO. 123

STATUTORY RULES 2001 No. 123

Issued by the authority of the Minister for Health and Aged Care

National Health Act 1953

National Health Amendment Regulations 2001 (No. 3)

Section 140 of the National Health Act 1953 (the Act) provides that the Governor-General may make regulations prescribing all matters that are required or permitted by the Act to be prescribed, or that are necessary and convenient to be prescribed for carrying out or giving effect to the Act.

Subsection 99(7) of the Act provided that:

"Subject to subsection (8), an approved supplier is not entitled:

...............

...............

to be paid by the Commonwealth for the supply of a pharmaceutical benefit to a person on a prescription presented to the approved supplier on or after 1 July 2001 or such date as is prescribed for the purposes of this subsection unless:

(c) there is ultimately supplied to the Health Insurance Commission a medicare number, or a special number, as a number applicable to the person to whom the prescription relates; and

(d) if the number so supplied is such a medicare number - that medicare number corresponds with a medicare number that is held in the records of the Health Insurance Commission as a number applicable to that person." [emphasis added].

The amending regulations deferred the commencement date for the non-payment of pharmaceutical benefits in the circumstances prescribed under subsection 99(7), from 1 July 2001 to 1 January 2002. The deadline of 1 July 2001 was not considered feasible due to the need to resolve outstanding issues relating to improving the accuracy of claims data provided to the Health Insurance Commission by approved suppliers, and the need to undertake necessary communication activities.

The regulations inserted regulation 50A, prescribing the date for the purposes of subsection 99(7) of the Act to be '1 January 2002'.

The details of the regulations are set out in the Attachment.

The regulations commenced on gazettal.

ATTACHMENT

Details of the National Health Amendment Regulations 2001 (No. 3)

Regulation 1 - Name of Regulations

Specifies that the title of the regulations is the National Health Amendment Regulations 2001 (No. 3).

Regulation 2 - Commencement

Provides that the regulations commence on gazettal.

Regulation 3 - Amendment of the National Health Regulations 1954

Provides that Schedule 1 amends the National Health Regulations 1954.

Schedule 1 - Amendments

Item [1] inserts regulation 50A prescribing the date for the purposes of subsection 99(7) of the Act to be '1 January 2002'.