EXPLANATORY STATEMENT
STATUTORY RULES 1990 No. 343
HEALTH INSURANCE ACT 1973
HEALTH INSURANCE (1990-91 PATHOLOGY SERVICES TABLE) REGULATIONS
Section 133 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 9 of the Act provides in effect that medicare benefits shall be calculated by reference to the fees for pathology services set out in the table of pathology services (the table) in Schedule 1A to the Act.
Section 4A of the Act provides, among other things, that the regulations may prescribe a table of pathology services in accordance with the form of the table set out in Schedule 1A and that upon commencement of a regulation prescribing a table of pathology services the table so prescribed has effect as if it were set out in Schedule 1A in place of the table in that Schedule. The Health Insurance (Variation of Pathology Services Table) Regulations prescribe such a table.
These Regulations replace Statutory Rules 1990 No. 312 which extended the operation of Statutory Rules 1989 No. 198 and Statutory Rules 1990 No. 84. The Minister for Community Services and Health agreed to the various recommendations and amendments, set out below, which amend the table of pathology services and its rules for interpretation.
These Regulations (with effect from 1 November 1990) replace all previous regulations and contain new items, varied items and incorporate the 5.5% increase in fees announced by the Government in the 1990/91 Federal Budget. Cabinet approved this increase in fees with effect from 1 November 1990.