Health Insurance (1998-1999 General Medical Services Table) Regulations 1998 (No. 1) 1998 No. 334
EXPLANATORY STATEMENT
STATUTORY RULES 1998 NO. 334
Issued by authority of the Minister for Health and Aged Care
Health Insurance Act 1973
Health Insurance (1998-1999 General Medical Services Table) Regulations 1998 (No. 1)
The Health Insurance Act 1973 ("the Act") provides for payments by way of Medicare benefits and payments for hospital services.
Section 133 of the Act provides that the Governor-General may make regulations for the purposes of the Act.
Section 4 of the Act provides that the regulations may prescribe a table of medical services, (other than diagnostic imaging services and pathology services) (the table). The Health Insurance (General Medical Services Table) Regulations, Statutory Rules Number 301 of 1998 currently prescribe such a table.
Section 9 of the Act provides that Medicare benefits shall be calculated by reference to the fees for medical services set out in the table.
The purpose of the Regulations was to amend the General Medical Services Table to increase the fees of selected radiation oncology items and rectify a drafting error relating to the derived fee for item 195 within the original Regulation.
The changes to the table resulted from negotiations between the Australian Association of Private Radiation Oncologists' Practices and the Department.
Details of the Regulations are set out in the Attachment.
The Regulations came into effect on 1 January 1999.
ATTACHMENT
Details of the proposed Health Insurance (1998-1999 General Medical Services Table) Regulations (No. 1)
Regulation 1 provides for the amended Regulation to be referred to as the Health Insurance (1998-99 General Medical Services Table) Amendment Regulations 1998. (No. 1)
Regulation 2 provided for the Regulation to commence on 1 January 1999.
Regulation 3 prescribes the amended 1.998-1999 General Medical Services Table amended as set out in Schedule 1
Schedule 1, Part 1 - Rules of Interpretation
Item 1 amended rule 7 by including subparagraph 7(9) to include a fee description for item 195 which was not correctly reflected in the original Regulation. due to a drafting error.
Items 2, 3 and 4 amended rule 15 to reflect the fee increase within the derived fee items.
Schedule 1, Part 2 - Services and Fees
Item 5 amends the fee for item 195 to reflect the amount under rule 7. This corrected a drafting error in the original Regulation.
Items 6 and 7 amend the fees for items 15203, 15204, 15207, 15208, 15211, 15214 15500, 15503, 15506, 15509: 15512, 15515, 15518, 15521, 15524, 15527, 15530 and 15533 to reflect the negotiated fee increase.