Commonwealth Numbered Regulations - Explanatory Statements

[Index] [Search] [Download] [Related Items] [Help]

PRIVATE HEALTH INSURANCE INCENTIVES AMENDMENT REGULATIONS 2001 (NO. 2) 2001 NO. 183

STATUTORY RULES 2001 No. 183

Issued by authority of the Minister for Health and Aged Care

Private Health Insurance Incentives Act 1998

Private Health Insurance Incentives Amendment Regulations 2001 (No. 2)

Section 19-40 of the Private Health Incentives Act 1998 (the Act) provides that the Governor-General may make Regulations for the purposes of the Act.

The Act provides for a financial incentive, in the form of a Rebate, for people who take out, or maintain, private health insurance. A fund which has received approval under the Act to deliver the rebate as a premium reduction is referred to as a "participating fund". Paragraph 14A-1 (1)(b) of the Act provides that the Minister may revoke a fund's status as a participating fund if the health fund fails to comply with conditions for participation prescribed in the Private Health Insurance Incentives Regulations 1998 (the Regulations).

Regulation 4 of the Regulations sets out the conditions for participation. Under this regulation a fund must, on or before 15 July each year, issue a written statement (the premium/ Rebate statement) to each contributor with an appropriate private health insurance policy. Regulation 6 of the Regulations sets out conditions with which the premium/ Rebate statement. must comply. Previously, funds could not insert any information into a premium/Rebate statement that did not directly relate to the 30% Rebate, except for certain information relating to Lifetime Health Cover.

However, the Regulations were amended on 30 May 2001 to enable funds to include additional information relating to the Medicare levy surcharge in premium/ Rebate statements. Restrictions were placed on the types of information that could be included with the premium/ Rebate statements to ensure that health funds did not dilute important information on the 30% Rebate with extraneous fund promotional material.

The purpose of the Regulations is to allow for information on private health insurance, provided by the Department of Health and Aged Care to participating health funds and identified as being available, to be included with, or to accompany, the premium/Rebate statements sent by health funds to their members. This will permit the target audience for information on private health insurance to be reached in an ordered, efficient and effective manner.

Details of the Regulations are set out in the Attachment.

The Regulations commenced on gazettal.

ATTACHMENT

NOTES ON CLAUSES

Regulation 1: Name of Regulations

Regulation. 1 provides that the Regulations may be cited as the Private Health Insurance Incentives Amendment Regulations 2001 (No. 2).

Regulation 2: Commencement

Regulation 2 provides that the Regulations commence on gazettal.

Regulation 3: Amendment of Private Health Insurance Incentives Regulations 1998

Regulation 3 provides that the Private Health Insurance Incentives Regulations 1998 are amended by Schedule 1.

SCHEDULE 1 - AMENDMENTS

Item 1

Paragraph 6(2)(c)

As a result of the introduction of new paragraph 6(2)(d), a consequential amendment is required to paragraph 6(2)(c) to remove the full stop which currently concludes the subregulation and replace it with a semi-colon to indicate that the subregulation continues at this point, concluding at paragraph 6(2)(d).

Item 2

Paragraph 6(2)(d)

The Schedule inserts paragraph 6(2)(d) which enables information about private health insurance provided by the Department of Health and Aged Care to participating health funds and identified as being available to be included with, or to accompany, the premium/Rebate statements sent by health funds to their members in accordance with paragraph 4(1)(a) of the Regulations.