EXPLANATORY STATEMENT HS/4/1999
SUBJECT: HEALTH INSURANCE ACT 1973
DETERMINATION UNDER SUBSECTION 3C TO AMEND THE
BONE DENSITOMETRY ITEMS IN THE MEDICARE BENEFITS
SCHEDULE
Subsection 3C(1) of the Health Insurance Act (the Act) provides that the Minister may, by instrument in writing, determine that a health service not already included in the Diagnostic Imaging Services Table is to be treated as if it were included in the table for the purposes of specified provisions of the Act, the Health Insurance Regulations, the National Health Act 1953 or regulations under that Act. Such a determination shall specify a fee in respect of the health service and shall be subject to the provisions of the Act and Regulations as if it were a health service included in the table.
The table, which is prescribed by Regulations under section 4AA and section 133 of the Act, contains item numbers for, descriptions of and fees in respect of medical services which are, among other things, recognised for the purposes of the payment of Medicare benefits.
The attached Determination replaces Determination HS/3/1998, which is now revoked. The Determination differs from the 1998 Determination in that the Schedule fee for the six bone densitometry items has been increased by $1.20 to $81.00 in line with the fee indexation of 1.5 per cent which is being applied to the MBS Schedule from 1 November 1999.
The effect of the Determination is to allow revised Medicare benefits to be payable for all the bone densitometry items in the Schedule.