ISSN 1328â8091 Parliament of Australia Department of Parliamentary Services BILLS DIGEST NO. 34, 2010-11 8 November 2010 Health Insurance Amendment (Pathology Requests) Bill 2010 Amanda Biggs Social Policy Section Contents Purpose .................................................................................................................................................... 2 Background .............................................................................................................................................. 2 Basis of policy commitment ................................................................................................................ 3 Committee consideration ................................................................................................................... 4 Position of major interest groups ....................................................................................................... 4 Financial implications ............................................................................................................................... 6 Key provisions .......................................................................................................................................... 6 Concluding comments ............................................................................................................................. 7 2 Health Insurance Amendment (Pathology Requests) Bill 2010 Health Insurance Amendment (Pathology Requests) Bill 2010 Date introduced: 20 October 2010 House: House of Representatives Portfolio: Health and Ageing Commencement: The day after Royal Assent Links: The links to the Bill, its Explanatory Memorandum and second reading speech can be found on the Bills home page, or through http://www.aph.gov.au/bills/. When bills have been passed they can be found at the ComLaw website, which is at http://www.comlaw.gov.au/. Purpose The Health Insurance Amendment (Pathology Requests) Bill 2010 (the Bill) proposes amendments to the Health Insurance Act 1973 (the Act), that would remove the requirement that a request for a Medicare eligible pathology service be made to a particular pathology provider. This will allow a patient to take their pathology request to a pathology provider of their own choice. The Bill was first introduced in February this year, but lapsed when Parliament was prorogued.1 The text of the current Bill is unchanged from this earlier version. Background Under Medicare arrangements, if a medical practitioner decides that it is clinically necessary, she/he may refer a patient to an approved provider for a diagnostic test. This referral normally takes the form of a written request for a particular service. The Act currently requires that in order for a Medicare benefit to be payable, a designated pathology
Date: 08/11/2010 - Collection: Bills and Legislation - ID: legislation/billsdgs/345773 - Source: Bills Digest Service - Author: BIGGS, Amanda