EXPLANATORY STATEMENT
Issued by the Authority of the Minister for Health and Ageing
Health Insurance Act 1973
Health Insurance (Positron Emission Tomography) Facilities Determination 2010 (No. 2)
Subsection 3C(1) of the Health Insurance Act 1973 (the Act) provides, in part, that the Minister may determine in writing that a health service not listed in the Diagnostic Imaging 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 (Diagnostic Imaging Services Table) Regulations (the Regulations) which are remade each year.
The Health Insurance (Positron Emission Tomography) Facilities Determination 2010
(No. 2) (the Determination) revokes and replaces the Health Insurance (Positron Emission Tomography) Facilities Determination 2010 (the Previous Determination). The Regulations to take effect from 1 November 2010 have been restructured to reflect modern drafting conventions, necessitating consequential amendments to references to the Regulations in the Determination. The Determination allows for continued eligibility of Medicare benefit for positron emission tomography services.
Details of the Determination are set out in the Attachment.
The Determination commences on 1 November 2010.
The Determination is a legislative instrument for the purposes of the Legislative Instruments Act 2003.
Consultation
No consultation was undertaken in the making of the Determination as the amendments are technical in nature and do not substantially alter existing arrangements.
ATTACHMENT
DETAILS OF THE HEALTH INSURANCE (POSITRON EMISSION TOMOGRAPHY) FACILITIES DETERMINATION 2010 (NO. 2)
Section 1 – Name of Determination
Section 1 provides that the title of the Determination is the Health Insurance (Positron Emission Tomography) Facilities Determination 2010 (No. 2) (the Determination).
Section 2 – Commencement
Section 2 provides that the Determination commences on 1 November 2010.
Section 3 – Revocation of Health Insurance (Positron Emission Tomography) Facilities Determination 2010
Section 3 provides that the Determination revokes the Health Insurance (Positron Emission Tomography) Facilities Determination 2010.
Section 4 – Interpretation
Subsection 4(1) defines terms used in the Determination.
Section 5 – Circumstances where this Determination applies
Section 5 specifies the circumstances in which the Determination applies. These circumstances are:
• that a written agreement between the owner or operator of the Positron Emission Tomography facility and the Commonwealth relating to the rendering of the service by the facility is in place; and
• that the service is rendered pursuant to a written request made by a specialist or consultant physician (other than the practitioner who renders the service), and the person to whom the service is rendered is a patient of the requesting practitioner, who has determined the service is necessary.
Section 6 – Treatment of certain positron emission tomography services
Subsection 6(a) provides that a 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, the National Health Act 1953 and the National Health Regulations 1954 that make provision in respect of professional services or medical services, as if it were both a professional service and a medical service.
Subsection 6(b) provides that a 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, the National Health Act 1953 and the National Health Regulations 1954 that make provision in respect of professional services or medical services, as if there were an
R-type diagnostic imaging service in the Table that related to the service and specified a fee in respect of that service being the fee specified in the Schedule.
Section 7 – Certain positron emission tomography services – items and specifications etc
Section 7 provides that the provisions specified in section 7 shall have effect as if a relevant service and the items that relate to a relevant service by virtue of section 6(b) were also specified in those provisions specified in section 7.
Consequential amendments to references to provisions of the Health Insurance (Diagnostic Imaging Services Table) Regulations 2010 are made in this section as a result of the restructure of that legislation.
The Schedule – Specified health services
The Schedule sets out the relevant services and assigns to the services the applicable item number, item descriptor and fee.