EXPLANATORY STATEMENT
Health Insurance Act 1973
Health Insurance (Bone Densitometry) Determination 2008
Issued by the Authority of the Minister for Health and Ageing
Background
Subsection 3C(1) of the Health Insurance Act 1973 (the Act) provides that the Minister may, by writing, determine that a health service not listed in the general medical services table (the Table) shall, in specified circumstances and for specified statutory provisions, be treated as if it were so listed. The Table is set out in the Health Insurance (General Medical Services Table) Regulations which are remade each year.
A determination made under subsection 3C(1) of the Act is a legislative instrument (see subsection 3C(4) of the Act and paragraph 6(d) of the Legislative Instruments Act 2003).
Health Insurance (Bone Densitometry) Determination 2008
The Health Insurance (Bone Densitometry) Determination 2008 (‘the Determination’) will revoke Health Insurance Determination HS/4/1997 and Health Insurance (Bone Densitometry) Determination 2007.
Health Insurance Determination HS/4/1997 (‘the 1997 Determination’) was made on 9 September 1997. Health Insurance Determination HS/3/1998 (‘the 1998 Determination’) was made on 2 November 1998 and is believed to have revoked the 1997 Determination, however the 1998 Determination was not registered on the Federal Register of Legislative Instruments and its contents cannot be verified. Several Determinations relating to bone densitometry have been made subsequent to the 1998 Determination, including the Health Insurance (Bone Densitometry) Determination 2007. For the avoidance of doubt, the Determination revokes both the Health Insurance (Bone Densitometry) Determination 2007 (‘the Previous Determination’) and the 1997 Determination.
The bone densitometry services specified in the Schedule to the Previous Determination concerned the provision of bone mineral density tests to patients who already had proven low bone mineral density or who were considered to be at high risk because they had had a fracture after minimal trauma, suffered from a condition that is associated with low bone mineral density such as chronic liver disease, or were on a course of treatment that may cause low bone mineral density.
Paragraph 5(a) of the Previous Determination provided that a bone densitometry service specified in the Schedule to the Previous Determination was to be treated as if it were both a professional service and a medical service for the purposes of the provisions of the Act, the National Health Act 1953 and regulations made under each Act that make provision for medical services or professional services.
Paragraph 5(b) of the Previous Determination provided that a bone densitometry service specified in the Schedule to the Previous Determination was to be treated as if there were an item in the Table that related to the service and specified a fee in respect of that service, being the fee mentioned in the Schedule to the Previous Determination for that service.
The Determination revokes and remakes the Previous Determination and provides for an increase in fees in respect of the services covered by the Determination. This fee increase is in line with the general fee increase that is being applied to most services in the Table from 1 November 2008.
Details of the Determination are set out in the Attachment.
Consultation
No consultation was undertaken in the making of the Determination as the changes to the Schedule are minor machinery in nature and do not substantially alter existing arrangements.
ATTACHMENT
Notes on sections
Section 1
Section 1 provides for the name of the Determination.
Section 2
Section 2 provides that the Determination commences on 1 November 2008.
Section 3
Section 3 provides that the Determination revokes Health Insurance Determination HS/4/1997 and Health Insurance (Bone Densitometry) Determination 2007.
Section 4
Subsection 4(1) defines terms used in the Determination.
A key term is 'relevant service' which means a health service as defined in paragraph 3C(8) of the Act that is specified in the Schedule to the Determination. There are seven such relevant services in the Schedule.
Subsection 4(2) provides that a reference to a provision of an Act or regulations, including the Act, the National Health Act 1953 and the regulations made under these Acts, is a reference to the provision as in force from time to time (as authorised by subsection 3C(3) of the Act).
Section 5
Paragraph 5(a) provides that a relevant service specified in the Schedule to the Determination shall be treated as if it were both a professional service and a medical service for the purposes of the provisions of the Act, the National Health Act 1953 and regulations made under each Act that make provision for medical services or professional services.
Paragraph 5(b) provides that a relevant service specified in the Schedule to the Determination is to be treated as if there were an item in the Table that related to the service and specified a fee in respect of that service, being the fee specified in the Schedule to the Determination in relation to the service.
Schedule
The Schedule sets out the relevant services and assigns to each relevant service the applicable item number, item descriptor and fee.