EXPLANATORY STATEMENT
National Health Act 1953
National Health (Pharmaceutical Benefits) Regulations (Amendment)
Apart from section 140 of the National Health Act 1953 (the Act), which provides that the Governor-General may make Regulations for the purposes of the Act, certain other provisions in the Act also specifically provide for matters to be prescribed by Regulation. Paragraph 84D(7)(c) of the Act provides for the prescribing of particulars to be included on a prescription record form where a pharmaceutical benefit has been supplied to the holder of the form.
The amendment to regulation 9A of the National Health (Pharmaceutical Benefits) Regulations adds to the existing particulars the maximum value of the pharmaceutical benefit to be recorded for Safety Net purposes.
The Social Welfare Legislation (Pharmaceutical Benefits) Amendment Bill 1990 (the Bill) amends the Act to provide for the Pharmaceutical Benefits Safety Net limits to become monetary limits in place of the current limit which is based on the number of prescriptions.
The Bill introduces a charge of $2.50 for those pensioners who currently receive prescriptions free under the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme with a protective Safety Net. Such pensioners will become concessional beneficiaries. A consequence of this is that if a pensioner is supplied with a pharmaceutical benefit under paragraph 87(2)(a) of the Act on or after 1 November 1990 the amount of $2.50 on or after 1 November 1990 specified in paragraph 87(2)(a) of the Act needs to be recorded on Safety Net Prescription Record Forms.
The Bill also adds paragraphs 87(2)(b), (c) and (d) of the Act to provide for a general patient to be charged $2.50 for a pharmaceutical benefit after 1 January 1991 but only after they have recorded $300 on the general Safety Net.
The Bill further adds paragraph 87(2)(e) of the Act to provide for making of a charge of $15.00 for the supply of a general prescription.
The purpose of the amendment to regulation 9A is to specify the charges set out in the above amendments to section 87 that will be required to be recorded on the Pharmaceutical Benefits Prescription Record Form and to provide that the agreed price as set out in section 84C of the Act is to be recorded on that Record form on or after 1 January 1991.
The amendment is to commence from the date of commencement of paragraph 5(c) of the Social Welfare Legislation (Pharmaceutical Benefits) Amendment Act 1990.