Health Insurance Commission Regulations (Amendment) (Cth)

Statutory Rules 1995

No. 286 1

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Health Insurance Commission Regulations 2(Amendment)

I, The Governor-General of the Commonwealth of Australia, acting with the advice of the Federal Executive Council, make the following Regulations under the Health Insurance Commission Act 1973.

Dated 3 October 1995.

 BILL HAYDEN

 Governor-General

By His Excellency’s Command,

CARMEN LAWRENCE

Minister for Human Services and Health

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1.   Amendment

1.1   The Health Insurance Commission Regulations are amended as set out in these Regulations.

[NOTE: These Regulations commence on gazettal: see Acts Interpretation Act 1901, s. 48.]

2.   Regulation 3P (Additional functions of the Commission: the Better Practice Program)

2.1   After paragraph 3P (1) (a), insert:

• “(aa)

  without limiting the generality of paragraph (a), in accordance with notice given to the applicant, to verify information provided in connection with the relevant application;”.

2.2   After paragraph 3P (1) (d), insert:

• “(da)

  without limiting the generality of paragraph (d), to give the Department information contained in an application for a Better Practice Payment in circumstances where:

  • (i)

    each person who made the application has agreed, in the application, to the giving of information to the Department; and

  • (ii)

    the information does not identify a particular patient to the Department;”.

2.3   Subregulation 3P (1):

Add at the end:

• “(f)

  to develop and adopt measures to ensure that general medical practices participating in the Program continue to comply with the relevant criteria mentioned in paragraph (2) (a);

• (g)

  to investigate cases where there are reasonable grounds to suspect that a general medical practice participating in the Program has ceased to comply with the relevant criteria mentioned in paragraph (2) (a);

• (h)

  to undertake, on behalf of the Commonwealth, actions (including the institution of legal proceedings) to recover from a general medical practice participating in the Program the whole or part of an amount paid in respect of that practice under the Program, being an amount that is recoverable by the Commonwealth from that practice;

• (i)

  to do all things necessary to ensure that payments made under the Program are correctly made and properly accounted for.”.

2.4   Paragraph 3P (2) (a):

Omit the paragraph,, substitute:

• “(a)

  make the decisions:

  • (i)

    in relation to applications lodged with the Commission on or before 30 November 1995—in accordance with criteria stated in the document known as ‘Eligibility Criteria and Payment Arrangements for the Better Practice Program, 1994-95’ published by the Department in November 1994; and

  • (ii)

    in relation to applications lodged with the Commission after 30 November 1995—in accordance with criteria stated in the document known as ‘Eligibility Criteria and Payment Arrangements for the Better Practice Program, as from 1 December 1995’ published by the Department in October 1995; and”.

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NOTES

1. Notified in the Commonwealth of Australia Gazette on 10 October 1995.

2. Statutory Rules 1975 No. 27 as amended by 1976 Nos. 21 and 146: 1982 No. 249: 1983 Nos. 88 and 152; Act No. 54, 1983; Statutory Rules 1984 No. 321; 1985 Nos. 41 and 70; 1986 No. 127; 1987 No. 165; 1989 Nos. 55, 96 and 195; 1991 No. 443; 1992 No. 241; 1993 Nos. 81, 89, 197 and 217; 1994 Nos. 102, 257, 404 and 450; 1995 No. 24.