Mr SOMLYAY (Minister for Regional Development, Territories and Local Government) (1:22 PM) —The Minister for Health and Family Services (Dr Wooldridge) has asked me to make the following statement on his behalf. The Health Legislation Amendment (Health Care Agreements) Bill 1998 provides the basic framework for the Commonwealth to enter into agreements with states and territories for the provision by the states and territories of acute health services to public patients free of charge in return for Commonwealth financial assistance. The bill does not contain the substance of the agreements, nor does it influence the funding of those agreements. The agreements are bilateral between the Commonwealth and each state and territory. The bill replaces sections of the Health Insurance Act 1973 which contain the provisions for the Medicare agreements from 1 July 1993 to 30 June 1998. The new provisions will facilitate agreements from 1 July 1998 to 30 June 2003.

The bill contains the Medicare principles by which the states must abide. These principles are similar to those in the current act. Eligible persons are to be given the choice to receive designated health services free of charge as public patients. Access to health services by public patients is to be on the basis of clinical need and within a clinically appropriate period. The arrangements are to be in place to ensure equitable access to designated health services for all eligible persons regardless of their geographical location.

Other key parts of the bill include a requirement for the development of a public patients charter, provisions for national health development special assistance and the establishment of a health care information commis sioner. Financial assistance under the new health care agreements is conditional on the development of a public patients charter. This charter will be a document for the dissemination of information about the provision of health services and the means by which complaints about the health system can be made. National health development special assistance will provide for major projects to re-engineer the acute care system, improving the efficiency or effectiveness of the delivery of health services, improving patient outcomes in relation to the delivery of these services or addressing the factors that lead to avoidable or unnecessary hospitalisation. For example, projects that seek to improve the integration of the acute care sector with the wider health care system or improve the linkage of information technology across the system may be funded. I thank members for their contribution to this debate.

Question put:

That the words proposed to be omitted (Mr Lee's amendment) stand part of the question.