National Health Regulations (Amendment)

National Health Regulations (Amendment) 1994 No. 139

EXPLANATORY STATEMENT

STATUTORY RULES 1994 No. 139

Issued by Authority of the Minister for Human Services and Health National Health Act 1953

National Health Regulations (Amendment)

Subsection 140(1) of the National Health Act 1953 (the Act) provides that the Governor-General may make regulations, prescribing all matters which by the Act are required or permitted to be prescribed

A number of government nursing homes in Victoria have previously been prescribed by regulation as adjusted fee government nursing homes for the purposes of section 4AAAA of the Act on 1 May, 1 June, 1 July and 1 November 1993. This amended regulation is to prescribe an additional group of Victorian government nursing homes as adjusted fee government nursing homes.

Currently, proprietors of government nursing homes receive a fixed rate of benefit for each nursing home patient. The rate of benefit paid in respect of such patients has been frozen since 1985. In the 1992 Federal Budget, the Government announced its intention that government nursing homes be brought into the care aggregated module (CAM) funding system which applies only to privately operated nursing homes and adjusted fee government nursing homes. The CAM funding system will result in higher levels of benefit being paid to the proprietors of nursing homes that become adjusted fee government nursing homes. In order for existing government nursing homes to become adjusted fee government nursing homes and thereby be brought into the CAM. funding system, they must be prescribed as adjusted fee government nursing homes for the purposes of section 4AAAA of the Act.

Groups of government nursing homes throughout Australia have been progressively prescribed as adjusted fee government nursing homes for the purpose of the Act. On 1 May 1993, the first group of government nursing homes in Victoria became adjusted fee government nursing homes. This was followed by a second group of nursing homes in Victoria on 1 June 1993, the third group in Victoria, South Australia and Tasmania on 1 July 1993, a fourth group in Victoria on 1 November 1993 and a fifth group in Tasmania on 1 May 1994.

The purpose of the National Health Regulations (Amendment) is to prescribe a sixth group of government nursing homes, namely 30 nursing homes in Victoria, as adjusted fee government nursing homes with effect from 1 June 1994. The nursing homes prescribed are set out in the Attachment. The regulations also omit the current Schedule 5 (list of adjusted fee government nursing homes) and substitute a new Schedule 5 which consolidates the list of all adjusted fee government nursing homes.

A special consideration that should be noted in the regulations is that Mildura Base Nursing Home, previously prescribed as No 12 in part B of Schedule 5 (1 May 1993), was split into two separate homes as of 1 November 1993, Rachael Willson House (No 341 of Part 3 of the Schedule) and Fisher House (No 318 of Part 3 of the Schedule). Since then the Department has received advice that these homes now wish to remain one home. Mildura Base Nursing Home has been restored to the Schedule and the prescription of Fisher House and Rachael Willson House has been nullified.

The Regulations commenced on 1 June 1994.

ATTACHMENT