EXPLANATORY STATEMENT

 

Select Legislative Instrument 2005 No. 178

 

Issued by the Authority of the Minister for Health and Ageing

 

Health Insurance Act 1973

 

Health Insurance (Diagnostic Imaging Services Table)

Amendment Regulations 2005 (No. 2)

 

Subsection 133(1) of the Health Insurance Act 1973 (the Act) provides 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.

 

The Act provides, in part, for payments of Medicare benefits in respect of professional services rendered to eligible persons.  Section 9 of the Act provides that Medicare benefits shall be calculated by reference to the fees for medical services, including diagnostic imaging services, set out in prescribed tables.

 

Section 4AA of the Act provides that the regulations may prescribe a table of diagnostic imaging services, the amount of fees applicable in respect of each item and the rules for interpretation of the table.  The Health Insurance (Diagnostic Imaging Services Table) Regulations 2004 (the Principal Regulations) prescribe such a table.

 

On 9 June 2004, the Minister for Health and Ageing announced that the Government would provide additional funding to extend Medicare eligibility to two existing MRI machines in children’s hospitals in Perth and Adelaide, and to a children’s hospital in Brisbane, upon purchase and installation of an MRI machine.  The Royal Children’s Hospital, Brisbane (the hospital) has purchased an MRI machine, and it is expected the machine will be installed and operational from 8 August 2005. 

 

The purpose of the Regulations is to enable the MRI machine located in the hospital to provide Medicare eligible services. 

 

Details of the Regulations are provided in the Attachment.

 

The Act specifies no conditions that need to be met before the power to make the Regulations may be exercised.

 

The Regulations are a legislative instrument for the purposes of the Legislative Instruments Act 2003. 

 

The Regulations commence on the day after they are registered on the Federal Register of Legislative Instruments.

 

Consultation

Medicare Benefits Schedule (MBS) funded MRI services are managed through the 2003-2008 Radiology Quality and Outlays Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the Commonwealth (as represented by the Department of Health and Ageing) and the radiology profession (as represented by the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Radiologists (RANZCR) and the Australian Diagnostic Imaging Association (ADIA)).  The RANZCR and the ADIA have been consulted about this matter as part of the ongoing management process for the Radiology MoU.

 

ATTACHMENT

 

Details of the Health Insurance (Diagnostic Imaging Services Table) Amendment Regulations 2005 (No. 2)

 

Regulation 1 – Name of Regulations

 

This regulation provides that the title of the Regulations is the Health Insurance (Diagnostic Imaging Services Table) Amendment Regulations 2005 (No. 2).

 

Regulation 2 – Commencement

 

This regulation provides for the Regulations to commence on the day after they are registered on the Federal Register of Legislative Instruments.

 

 

Regulation 3 – Amendment of the Health Insurance (Diagnostic Imaging Services Table) Regulations 2004  

 

This regulation provides that the Health Insurance (Diagnostic Imaging Services Table) Regulations 2004 (the Principal Regulations) are amended as set out in the Schedule.    

 

Schedule – Amendment

 

Item [1] – rule 36

 

This item amends rule of interpretation 36 (MRI and MRA - eligible equipment) by inserting new item 3 in the table in paragraph 36(c)(i) to prescribe the MRI unit located in the Royal Children’s Hospital, Brisbane as eligible MRI equipment.