Ged Kearney (Cooper, Australian Labor Party, Assistant Minister for Health and Aged Care) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I move:

That the amendment be agreed to.

The Private Health Insurance Legislation Amendment (Medical Device and Human Tissue Product List and Cost Recovery) Bill 2022 is a part of an initial package of three bills necessary to support the modernising and improvement of the prostheses list. The initial package of bills also provided for financially sustainable cost recovery arrangements. Among other things, the bill updates the cost recovery arrangements by providing a fee-for-service cost recovery arrangement. The government amendment to schedule 2 of this bill responds to concerns raised by the Senate Standing Committee for the Scrutiny of Bills about the breadth of each discretion in sections 72-20 and 72-25 of the PHI Bill.

The government amendment includes matters the minister must have regard to when exercising certain powers, specifically where there are unpaid fees or levies under section 72-20 and 70-25 of the PHI Bill. The power in section 72-20 provides for the removal of a listing if there are unpaid fees or levies. The power in section 72-25 provides that the minister may refuse to carry out or may direct a person not to carry out specified activities until unpaid fees or levies are paid. The government amendment requires the minister to have regard to whether the exercise of these powers would be detrimental to the interests of insured persons, also known as patients; and whether the exercise of these powers would significantly limit the professional freedom of medical practitioners, also known as clinicians, to identify and provide appropriate treatments. This measure provides appropriate safeguards and guides the exercise of the powers in section 72-20 and 72-25 of the bill. I thank the Senate for their support of this amendment and I commend the amendment to the House.

Question agreed to.