Health Insurance Act 1973 Making of Guidelines under section 23EA (30/08/1999) (Cth)

COMMONWEALTH OF AUSTRALIA

HEALTH INSURANCE ACT 1973

MAKING OF GUIDELINES UNDER SECTION 23EA

I, MICHAEL RICHARD LEWIS WOOLDRIDGE, Minister for Health and Aged Care, in pursuance of subsection 23EA(5) of the Health Insurance Act 1973 (the Act), hereby make the following guidelines set out in the attached Schedule relating to decisions to make declarations of premises as private hospitals under subsection 23 EA (1) of the Act.

Date this 30th day of Aug. 1999

[signed]

MICHAEL RICHARD LEWIS WOOLDRIDGE

Minister for Health and Aged Care

30 Aug 1999

SCHEDULE

COMMONWEALTH OF AUSTRALIA

HEALTH INSURANCE ACT 1973

MAKING OF GUIDELINES FOR THE PURPOSES OF SUBSECTION 23EA

1. In considering whether to make a declaration of premises as a private hospital under

s.23EA(1) the Minister should have regard to:

(a)    Whether or not declaration of the premises would materially affect reasonable access by public patients to a reasonable range of services;

(b)   Whether or not declaration of the premises would result in a transfer of costs from the State or Territory to any other party;

(c)    In the case of private hospital premises which were part of a public hospital, operated as a public hospital, or are co-located with a public hospital operated by a State or Territory, the adequacy of arrangements in that public hospital to ensure that patients presenting for treatment are able to exercise freely their right to elect to be treated as a public patient in that facility;

(d)   In the case of premises to be used as private hospitals and with which the State or Territory has entered into an agreement for the supply of services to public patients the adequacy of the arrangements specified in that agreement to ensure that patients presenting for treatment are able to exercise freely their right to elect to be treated as a public patient in that hospital;

(e)    In the case of premises previously part of a public hospital, operated as a public hospital, or co-located with a public hospital, whether or not the State or Territory and the

licensee of the hospital have entered into or are prepared to enter into enforceable agreements with the Commonwealth to supply data or information to the   Commonwealth to allow the Commonwealth to monitor access by public patients to a reasonable range of services, the adequacy of arrangements for patient election, costs to the State/Territory and any other party, and the extent to which costs incurred by other parties are increasing or decreasing;

(f)     In the case of premised to be used as private hospitals and with which the State or        Territory has entered into an agreement for the supply of services to public patients, whether or not the State or Territory and the licensee of the hospitals have entered in or are prepared to enter into enforceable agreements with the Commonwealth to ensure the supply of data or information to the Commonwealth to allow the Commonwealth to monitor access by public patients to a reasonable range of services, the adequacy of arrangements for patient election, costs to the State/Territory and any other party, and the extent to which costs incurred by other parties are increasing or decreasing.

1. In these guidelines:

(a)    ‘State Territory means the State or Territory in which the premises are located, and includes a governing body or authority established by a law of the Commonwealth, a law of a State or the law of an internal territory;

(b)   ‘licensee’ means the person licensed under the law of the State or Territory in which they are located to operate the premises as a private hospital.