EXPLANATORY STATEMENT
STATUTORY RULES NO. 329 OF 1989
HEALTH INSURANCE ACT 1973 HEALTH INSURANCE (VARIATION OF FEES AND MEDICAL SERVICES (NO. 52) REGULATIONS
Section 133 of the Health Insurance Act 1973 (‘the Act’) provides in part that the Governor-General may make regulations, not inconsistent with the Act, 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.
Section 9 of the Act provides in effect that medicare benefits shall be calculated by reference to the fees for medical services set out in the table of medical services (the table) in Schedule 1 of the Act.
Section 4 of the Act provides, among other things, that the regulations may prescribe a table of medical services (other than pathology services) in accordance with the form of the table set out in Schedule 1 and that upon commencement of a regulation prescribing a table of medical services and the table so prescribed has effect as if it were set out in Schedule 1 in the place of the table in that Schedule. The Health Insurance (Variation of Fees and Medical Services) Regulations prescribe such a table.
The No. 52 Regulations supplement the No. 51 Regulations which prescribed a new table of medical services which came into effect on 1 September 1989.
12 new items are to be included in the table of medical services for attendances on patients by vocationally registered general practitioners, these are practitioners whose medical practice is predominately general practice and who have the appropriate training and experience in general practice.
Each of the 4 new categories of general practitioner attendances contain 3 items for surgery consultations, home visits and consultations at institutions, and are based largely on tasks undertaken with the patient rather than on time spent with the patient. The Minister for Housing and Aged Care agreed on 26 September 1989 to the inclusion of these items in the table.
Other changes in the regulations involve amendments to the urology, thoracic and nuclear medicine parts of the medical services table. The changes were discussed with the specialist craft groups and with the Australian Medical Association. The Minister approved the changes on 5 October 1989.
The Regulations include an addition to the Rules of Interpretation of the table to define the new vocationally registered general practitioner items.