Commonwealth Numbered Acts

NATIONAL HEALTH AMENDMENT ACT (No. 2) 1976 No. 99, 1976 - SECT 13

13. Section 73BB of the Principal Act is repealed and the following section
substituted:- Reinsurance Account in hospital benefits fund.
''73BB. (1) It is a condition of registration of a registered hospital
benefits organization that, as on and from 1 October 1976 or the date of its
registration, whichever is the later, it shall establish and maintain a
Reinsurance Account in the hospital benefits fund, or in each of the hospital
benefits funds, from time to time conducted by it.

''(2) For the purposes of this section, where hospital benefits have been
paid, or are payable, by a registered organization to a contributor, in
accordance with the standard table, in respect of the provision of hospital
treatment on any day-

   (a)  if the treatment was so provided for 1 person only-that day counts as
        1 patient day of the contributor; or

   (b)  if the treatment was so provided for 2 or more persons-that day
        counts, subject to sub-section (8), as a number of patient days of the
        contributor equal to the number of those persons.

''(3) Where, within a period of 12 months commencing on a day that counts as a
patient day or patient days of a contributor (being a day on or after the
commencing date of the contributor and not being a day within a period of 12
months in respect of which this section has previously become applicable to
the contributor) the number of patient days of the contributor counted from
and including that day reaches the prescribed number of patient days, this
section applies to the contributor in respect of that period of 12 months.

''(4) Subject to sub-section (5), where this section applies to a contributor
in respect of a period of 12 months-

   (a)  the organization concerned may debit to the Reinsurance Account
        maintained by it in the hospital benefits fund concerned the amounts
        of any payments of any benefits made out of that fund, in accordance
        with the standard table, to the contributor in respect of any part of
        that period of 12 months after the day in that period on which the
        prescribed number of patient days was reached; and

   (b)  where such a debit is made, the organization shall credit to the
        Reinsurance Account amounts of any contributions in respect of the
        standard table made by the contributor to the fund in respect of the
        part of that period of 12 months after the day referred to in
        paragraph (a).

''(5) Sub-section (4) does not authorize a registered organization to debit to
the Reinsurance Account maintained by it in a hospital benefits fund the
amounts of any payments of any benefits made out of that fund in respect of
any period before 1 October 1976 or to credit to such an account any
contributions made by a contributor in respect of any such period.

''(6) A registered organization may debit to the Reinsurance Account
maintained by it in a hospital benefits fund the amount of any reasonable
management expenses approved by the Minister after he has consulted with the
Trustees appointed under section 73BC.

''(7) A registered organization-

   (a)  shall maintain such records relating to the operation of the
        Reinsurance Account maintained by it in a hospital benefits fund as
        the Minister determines from time to time;

   (b)  shall keep the records referred to in paragraph (a) separate and
        distinct from any other records maintained by the organization; and

   (c)  shall furnish to the Permanent Head, at such times as the Minister
        determines, such information drawn from the records referred to in
        paragraph (a) as the Minister requires.

''(8) Where, on the day referred to in sub-section (4), the number of patient
days of the contributor from the beginning of the relevant period of 12 months
increases from a number that is less than the prescribed number of patient
days to a number that exceeds that prescribed number by reason of hospital
treatment being received by 2 or more persons on that day, the organization
may, for the purposes of this section, treat the hospital treatment provided
on that day for any of those persons, to a number equal to the excess number
of patient days, as having been provided on the next following day.

''(9) For the purposes of this section, the commencing date of a contributor
to a registered organization is-

   (a)  if the contributor was a special account contributor of that
        organization on 30 September 1976 and hospital benefits have been
        paid, or are payable, to the contributor by the organization in
        respect of hospital treatment for each of the 35 days immedi- ately
        preceding 1 October 1976-27 August 1976;

   (b)  if the registered organization is satisfied that the contributor was a
        special account contributor of another registered organization on 30
        September 1976 and that hospital benefits have been paid, or are
        payable, to the contributor by that other registered organization in
        respect of hospital treatment for each of the 35 days immediately
        preceding 1 October 1976-27 August 1976;

   (c)  if the contributor was a special account contributor of the
        organization on 30 September 1976 to whom paragraph (a) does not
        apply-1 October 1975;

   (d)  if the registered organization is satisfied that the contributor was a
        special account contributor of another registered organization on 30
        September 1976 to whom paragraph (b) does not apply-1 October 1975;
        and

   (e)  in any other case-1 October 1976 or the day on which he becomes a
        contributor to the hospital benefits fund of the organization,
        whichever is the later day.

''(10) Where a contributor to a registered organization was a special account
contributor of the organization on 30 September 1976, or a registered
organization is satisfied that a contributor to the organization was a special
account contributor of another organization on that date, any hospital
benefits paid or payable to the contributor by the organization, or any
hospital benefits that the organization is satisfied were paid or are payable
to the contributor by another registered organization, in respect of hospital
treatment provided before 1 October 1976 for the contributor or a dependant of
the contributor shall, in the application of this section in relation to the
contributor, be treated as if those benefits were paid, or were payable, to
the contributor by the organization of which he is, for the time being, a
contributor, in accordance with the standard table, in respect of hospital
treatment.

''(11) In this section-

'hospital treatment' includes, where appropriate, both hospital treatment and
professional services;

'prescribed number of patient days' means 35 patient days or such other number
of patient days as is prescribed by the regulations.''.