2008‑2009

The Parliament of the

Commonwealth of Australia

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

Presented and read a first time

Health Insurance Amendment (Extended Medicare Safety Net) Bill 2009

No.      , 2009

(Health and Ageing)

A Bill for an Act to amend the Health Insurance Act 1973, and for related purposes

Contents

1............ Short title............................................................................................ 1

2............ Commencement.................................................................................. 1

3............ Schedule(s).......................................................................................... 1

Schedule 1—Health Insurance Act 1973                                                                   3

A Bill for an Act to amend the Health Insurance Act 1973, and for related purposes

The Parliament of Australia enacts:

1  Short title

                   This Act may be cited as the Health Insurance Amendment (Extended Medicare Safety Net) Act 2009.

2  Commencement

                   This Act commences on 1 January 2010.

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                   Each Act that is specified in a Schedule to this Act is amended or repealed as set out in the applicable items in the Schedule concerned, and any other item in a Schedule to this Act has effect according to its terms.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—Health Insurance Act 1973

1  After subsection 10ACA(7)

Insert:

          (7A)  Despite subsections (2) and (7), if the current claim is for a service specified in an item determined under section 10B to be an item to which this subsection applies, the increase under this section in the benefit payable in respect of the claim cannot exceed the amount determined under section 10B as the maximum increase for that item.

Note:          This subsection does not limit the increase payable in respect of a claim for a service specified in an item not determined under section 10B to be an item to which this subsection applies.

          (7B)  If:

                     (a)  for the purposes of the pathology services table:

                              (i)  2 or more pathology services are treated as a single pathology service; and

                             (ii)  the fee for the single service is the fee specified in one or more particular items in the table; and

                     (b)  one or more of those particular items (the limited increase items) are items determined under section 10B to be items to which subsection (7A) of this section applies;

then, for the purposes of that subsection, the single service is taken to be specified in the limited increase item or, if there are 2 or more limited increase items, in the one of those items for which the maximum increase determined under section 10B is the greatest.

Note:          Section 4B lets regulations provide for a rule of interpretation of the pathology services table to treat 2 or more pathology services as a single pathology service.

2  After subsection 10ADA(8)

Insert:

          (8A)  Despite subsections (3) and (8), if the current claim is for a service specified in an item determined under section 10B to be an item to which this subsection applies, the increase under this section in the benefit payable in respect of the claim cannot exceed the amount determined under section 10B as the maximum increase for that item.

Note:          This subsection does not limit the increase payable in respect of a claim for a service specified in an item not determined under section 10B to be an item to which this subsection applies.

          (8B)  If:

                     (a)  for the purposes of the pathology services table:

                              (i)  2 or more pathology services are treated as a single pathology service; and

                             (ii)  the fee for the single service is the fee specified in one or more particular items in the table; and

                     (b)  one or more of those particular items (the limited increase items) are items determined under section 10B to be items to which subsection (8A) of this section applies;

then, for the purposes of that subsection, the single service is taken to be specified in the limited increase item or, if there are 2 or more limited increase items, in the one of those items for which the maximum increase determined under section 10B is the greatest.

Note:          Section 4B lets regulations provide for a rule of interpretation of the pathology services table to treat 2 or more pathology services as a single pathology service.

3  After section 10A

Insert:

10B  Determinations for subsections 10ACA(7A) and 10ADA(8A)

                   The Minister may by legislative instrument do either or both of the following:

                     (a)  determine that subsections 10ACA(7A) and 10ADA(8A) apply to specified items;

                     (b)  determine amounts as the maximum increases for items to which subsections 10ACA(7A) and 10ADA(8A) are determined to apply.

Note:          For specification by class, see subsection 13(3) of the Legislative Instruments Act 2003.

4  Application

Subsections 10ACA(7A) and 10ADA(8A) of the Health Insurance Act 1973 (as amended by this Schedule) apply in relation to services rendered on or after the commencement of those subsections.