EXPLANATORY STATEMENT
STATUTORY RULES 1985 NO. 207
ISSUED BY AUTHORITY OF THE MINISTER FOR HEALTH
HEALTH INSURANCE ACT 1973
HEALTH INSURANCE (VARIATION OF FEES AND MEDICAL SERVICES) (NO. 38) REGULATIONS
Section 133 of the Health Insurance Act 1973 (‘the Act’) provides in part that the Governor-General may make regulations prescribing all matters required or permitted by the Act to be prescribed, or necessary or convenient to be prescribed for carrying out or giving effect to the Act.
Schedule 1 to the Act contains a table of medical services and rules for the interpretation of the table. The table of medical services contains items which set out the description of each medical service, and the fee for the calculation of medicare benefit applicable in each State in respect of the service.
Section 4 of the Act provides that the table of medical services, items or rules of interpretation in Schedule 1 to the Act may be varied or replaced by
regulations, and that regulations replacing such a table may be amended by regulations. The Health Insurance (Variation of Fees and Medical Services) (No 37) Regulations prescribe the present table of medical services pursuant to section 4 of the Act.
Section 9 of the Act provides that medicare benefit shall be calculated by reference to fees for medical services set out in the table of medical services in Schedule 1 to the Act. Medicare benefit is normally payable, in accordance with section 10 of the Act, at a rate of 85% of the relevant fee specified in the table of medical services. An additional amount of medicare benefit is payable where required to ensure that the difference between the benefit normally payable and the fee specified in the table of medical services does not exceed $10.00 in relation to a single professional service, or an aggregate of $150.00 per patient in a year in relation to multiple professional services.
Item 4319 of the table of medical services relates to the medical service, as described in the item, of:
“circumcision of a person under six months of age, where medically indicated”.
The regulations amend the Health Insurance (Variation of Fees and Medical Services) (No.37) Regulations by amending item 4319 to remove from the description of medical service in that item the words “where medically indicated”.
The amendment brings the description of medical service in item 4319 into line with those in items 4327, 4338 and 4345 of the table of medical services. These other items, which also relate to the procedure of circumcision, but in different age groups, do not contain the words where “medically indicated”.
The Minister for Health agreed to recommend this amendment following representations from the Jewish Board of Deputies and the Australian Federation of Islamic Councils.
The regulations came into operation on 1 September 1985.