Health Insurance Amendment (Pathology Requests) Act 2010

No. 138, 2010

An Act to amend the law relating to health, and for related purposes

[Assented to 10 December 2010]

The Parliament of Australia enacts:

1 Short title

This Act may be cited as the Health Insurance Amendment (Pathology Requests) Act 2010.

2 Commencement

This Act commences on the day after this Act receives the Royal Assent.

3 Schedule(s)

Each Act that is specified in a Schedule to this Act is amended or repealed as set out in the applicable items in the Schedule concerned, and any other item in a Schedule to this Act has effect according to its terms.

Schedule 1—Amendment of the Health Insurance Act 1973

1 Subsection 3(1) (subparagraph (d)(ii) of the definition of professional service)

Omit “to whom the treating practitioner has made a request for the service”, substitute “who received a request for the service made by the treating practitioner”.

2 Subsection 16A(3)

Repeal the subsection. Substitute:

(3) A medicare benefit is not payable in respect of a pathology service (other than a pathologist-determinable service to which subsection (6) applies) that has been rendered by or on behalf of an approved pathology practitioner unless:

(a) the service was rendered pursuant to a request made by the treating practitioner and, if an approved pathology practitioner was specified on the request, the service was conducted by that practitioner; or

(b) the service was rendered pursuant to a request made by another approved pathology practitioner who received a request for the service made by the treating practitioner and the treating practitioner did not specify a pathology practitioner.

(3A) In subsection (3), a treating practitioner may only specify an approved pathology practitioner on clinical grounds.

4 Subsection 16A(4)

Omit “to or by an approved pathology practitioner for a pathology service”.

5 Subsection 16A(5)

Omit “to or by an approved pathology practitioner for a pathology service”.

6 Subsection 16A(5AA)

Omit “to the rendering pathologist”.

7 Paragraph 16A(5AA)(b)

Omit “to whom the treating practitioner has made a request for that service”, substitute “who received a request for the service made by the treating practitioner”.

8 Subparagraph 16A(5A)(a)(i)

Omit “to the approved pathology practitioner”.

9 Subparagraph 16A(5A)(a)(ii)

Omit “to whom the treating practitioner made the request”, substitute “who received a request for the service made by the treating practitioner”.

10 Subsection 16A(8)

Repeal the subsection.

11 Paragraph 23DK(2)(a)

Omit “to an approved pathology practitioner (in this section referred to as the relevant pathologist)”.

12 Paragraph 23DK(2)(c)

Omit “relevant pathologist”, substitute “approved pathology practitioner who received the request (the relevant pathologist)”.

13 Subsection 23DK(5)

Omit “to an approved pathology practitioner”.

14 Subsection 23DK(11)

Repeal the subsection.