EXPLANATORY STATEMENT
Issued by the Authority of the Minister for Health and Ageing
Health Insurance Act 1973
Health Insurance (Positron Emission Tomography) Facilities Determination 2008
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 pathology services table or the diagnostic imaging services table shall, in specified circumstances and for specified statutory provisions, be treated as if it were so listed.
A determination made under subsection 3C(1) is a legislative instrument for the purposes of the Legislative Instruments Act 2003 (see subsection 3C(4) of the Act and paragraph 6(d) of the Legislative Instruments Act 2003).
Health Insurance (Positron Emission Tomography) Facilities Determination 2008 (the Determination) revokes the Health Insurance Determination HS/6/01, as amended by the Health Insurance Determination HS/6/01 (Amendment) HS/6/05.
The purpose of the Determination is to maintain the current availability of Medicare items for PET and to delete eight items relating to colorectal carcinoma, ovarian carcinoma and melanoma. The content of these items will be found in six new items in the Health Insurance (Positron Emission Tomography) Determination 2008 (No. 2). The Determination also does not include five items that were removed by the Health Insurance Determination HS/6/01 (Amendment) HS/6/05.
Details of the Determination are set out in the Attachment.
The Determination commences on 1 December 2008.
Consultation
The Department has consulted with expert clinicians in PET nominated by the Australian and New Zealand Association of Physicians in Nuclear Medicine and the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Radiologists for input into item descriptors, which are being implemented through this Determination.
DIAGNOSTIC SERVICES BRANCH
DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND AGEING
NOVEMBER 2008
ATTACHMENT
NOTES ON SECTIONS TO THE DETERMINATION
Section 1
Section 1 provides that the Determination may be cited as the Health Insurance (Positron Emission Tomography) Facilities Determination 2008.
Section 2
Section 2 provides that the Determination commences on 1 December 2008
Section 3
Section 3 provides that this Determination revokes the Health Insurance Determination HS/6/01, as amended by Health Insurance HS/6/01 (Amendment) HS/6/05.
Section 4
Subsection 4(1) defines terms used in the Determination.
Section 5
Section 5 specifies the circumstances in which the Determination applies.
Section 6
Section 6 (a) provides that the relevant service specified in the Schedule to the Determination shall be treated for the purposes of all provisions of the Act, regulations made under the Act and of all provisions of the National Health Act 1953 and regulations made under the National Health Act 1953 that make provision in respect of professional services or medical services, as if it were both a professional service and a medical service.
Paragraph 6(b) provides that the relevant service specified in the Schedule to the Determination shall be treated for the purposes of all provisions of the National Health Act 1953 and regulations made under the National Health Act 1953 that make provision in respect of professional services or medical services, as if there were an R-type diagnostic imaging service in the diagnostic imaging services table that related to the service and specified a fee in respect of that service being the fee specified in the Schedule.
Section 7
Section 7 provides that the specified provisions shall have effect as if a relevant service and the items that relate to a relevant service, were also specified in those specified provisions.
The Schedule
The Schedule sets out the relevant services and assigns to the services the applicable item number, item descriptor and fee.