The Healthcare Identifiers Act establishes a national system for consistently identifying consumers and healthcare providers.

The objective is that healthcare identifiers for individuals and providers will be used as part of a national electronic health records system to improve safety for patients and increase efficiency for healthcare providers.

The Healthcare Identifiers Service will be operated by Medicare Australia.

Its functions include:

• assigning, collecting and maintaining identifiers for individuals, individual healthcare providers and organisations by using information already held by Medicare Australia for its existing functions;
• collecting information from individuals and other data sources;
• developing and maintaining mechanisms for users to access their own records and correct or update details;
• using and disclosing healthcare identifiers and associated personal information,for the purposes of operating the Healthcare Identifiers Service; and
• disclosing healthcare identifiers for other purposes set out in the Act.

The Act sets out the permitted purposes for which healthcare identifiers may be used or disclosed and the offences relating to the misuse of healthcare identifiers and penalties for breaches of the legislation.

The Federal Privacy Commissioner will provide independent regulation of how healthcare identifiers are handled and the operation of the Healthcare Identifiers Service. This will include handling complaints against Medicare Australia.

The Senate Standing Committee on Community Affairs has recommended the passing of the Healthcare Identifiers Bill 2010 and the Healthcare Identifiers (Consequential Amendments) Bill 2010. (Download report here)

On 19 November 2009 the Government re-introduced its reform package:

• Fairer Private Health Insurance Incentives (Medicare Levy Surcharge - Fringe Benefits) Bill 2009 [No. 2]
• Fairer Private Health Insurance Incentives (Medicare Levy Surcharge) Bill 2009 [No. 2]
• Fairer Private Health Insurance Incentives Bill 2009 [No. 2]

The Explanatory Memoranda are here, here and here.

UPDATE: The Bills were defeated by a majority vote in the Senate on 24 February 2010.

ComLaw has published a consolidated Health Insurance Act 1973 which includes the latest amendments.

The Private Health Insurance Legislation Amendment Bill (No. 2) 2009 is currently before Parliament.

It allows for the conditional listing of prostheses in the Private Health Insurance (Prostheses) Rules (Prostheses Rules) and requires the Minister for Health and Ageing to make rules specifying criteria for listing prostheses in the Prostheses Rules.

The Parliamentary Library has published a digest of the Bill here.

The Senate Community Affairs Committee has tabled its report titled “Fairer Private Health Insurance Incentives Bill 2009 and two related bills“

ComLaw has issued a consolidated National Health Act containing the latest amendments relating to the provision of pharmaceutical, sickness and hospital benefits, and of medical and dental services.

The Board of Private Health Insurance Administration Council (PHIAC) has approved an application by Medibank Private Limited (MPL) to become a ‘for-profit’ health insurer.

The conversion in status will take effect from 1 October 2009.

Under s.126-42(3) of the Private Health Insurance Act 2007 , PHIAC must approve such an application if it is satisfied, within 30 days after the application is made, that the conversion scheme would not in substance involve the demutualisation of the applicant insurer.

MPL’s Application indicated that the conversion would not change policyholders’ current premiums and entitlements. PHIAC says it was satisfied that the conversion did not constitute a demutualisation.

The Senate Community Affairs Committee is conducting an Inquiry into the Private Health Insurance Legislation Amendment Bill 2009

If the Bill is passed, the amendments will add a category of “dependent child” under the Private Health Insurance Act 2007 by inserting the definition of “dependent child non-student”. This will allow insurers to charge a different premium for “dependent child non-students” under a family policy. A “dependent child non-student” is a person aged from 18 to 24 (inclusive), who does not have a partner, is not receiving a full time education at a school, college or university and is defined in a private health insurer‟s fund rules.

The Senate has referred the The Fairer Private Health Insurance Incentives Bill 2009, the Fairer Private Health Insurance Incentives (Medicare Levy Surcharge) Bill 2009 and the Fairer Private Health Insurance Incentives (Medicare Levy Surcharge — Fringe Benefits) Bill 2009 to the Senate Economics Committee for an Inquiry.

The Bills change the rate of the private health insurance rebate and increase the Medicare levy surcharge for higher income earners.

The Committee is due to report by 16 June 2009.