The Private Health Insurance Legislation Amendment Rules (No. 3) 2021 (the Amendment Rules) amend the:
- Private Health Insurance (Benefit Requirements) Rules 2011 (the Benefit Requirements Rules)
- Private Health Insurance (Complying Product) Rules 2015 (the Complying Product Rules) and
- Private Health Insurance (Health Insurance Business) Rules 2018 (the Business Rules).
The Amendment Rules were registered on the Federal Register of Legislation on 25 June 2021 and commence on 1 July 2021.
The Amendment Rules amend the Benefit Requirements Rules to:
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- increase the minimum benefit payable by private health insurers for private patients’ overnight and same-day accommodation in both private and public hospitals. The increase is in line with the annual increase to March 2021 in the Consumer Price Index (CPI) of 1.1 per cent;
- index the monetary qualifiers for the Medicare Benefits Schedule (MBS) items included in Type A procedure patient classifications for “advanced surgical patient” and “surgical patient”. The increases are in line with annual indexation of the MBS fees of 0.9 per cent from 1 July 2021; and
- increase the minimum benefits payable by private health insurers for private nursing home-type patients’ (NHTPs) accommodation in public hospitals in South Australia and the Australian Capital Territory (ACT).
The Amendment Rules amend the Complying Product Rules to increase the daily patient contribution payable by NHTPs for accommodation in public hospitals in the ACT.
The Amendment Rules amend the Business Rules to effect a $5 increase in the second-tier application fee, from $895 to $900, following a review and update of cost-recovery models and the application of indexation.
Further details on the amendments are included in the Explanatory Statement accompanying the Amendment Rules available on the Federal Register of Legislation at www.legislation.gov.au by searching ‘Private Health Insurance Legislation Amendment Rules (No. 3) 2021’.