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  • Health-Care - The Importance of Choice - Part 5

    Health-Care - The Importance of Choice - Part 5
    10 Jul
    2018

    Posted by Evolve College News

    Government Changes Affecting Complementary Therapies

    In this series, we have looked at the rights of people in health-care. We have explored Conventional Medicine, Complementary Medicine and Complementary to Medicine.

    This week and next, we look at recent and proposed changes which affect health-care therapies. We bring this information to our readership so that they are informed of changes in this area, either as interested persons in receiving Complementary Medicine or Complementary to Medicine therapies, or as practitioners, or both.

    We explore two changes or proposed changes over this and the coming week’s article. The first change is in relation to the Private Health Insurance rebate. Given the large amount of information that has been released on the rebate, and the uncertainty that many people have expressed as to whether the announcements made late in 2017 will be changing, we have set out below the latest information that we have received, including on what is to come.

    Private Health Insurance Rebate 

    On 13 October 2017, Minister Hunt announced that the private health insurance rebate will no longer apply to certain natural therapies from 1 April 2019. The Government has stated that this means that private health insurance will no longer be able to pay for those therapies as a benefit under the Private Health Insurance Rules (from 1 April 2019).

    Remedial Massage will remain on the list of therapies covered by the private health insurance rebate. The list of therapies which the Government has announced will be removed from the rebate can be accessed here.

    Are the private health insurance rebate changes definite? 

    The Government has stated that it does not intend to revisit its policy decision to remove certain natural therapies from the private health insurance rebate. However, there is a process that needs to be undertaken, in order for that policy to become law.

    In particular, the proposed change needs to be endorsed by Parliament, through private health insurance legislation. 

    Following passing of legislation, the Government will need to adjust the Private Health Insurance Rules (Rules). More descriptive information will go into the Rules. The proposed adjustment to the Rules will be sent out to the sector for consultation. The Government has not yet confirmed when that consultation will be undertaken.

    The Government has stated that the consultation process is not intended to revisit the policy decision to remove certain therapies from the rebate list, but to be clear on the language in the Rules and how it should be operationalised. However, it is expected that stakeholders will voice their view about the changes to the rebate list as part of the consultation.

    Therefore, the process of implementing the change in the private health insurance rebate list regarding natural therapies is going through the standard due diligence applicable to a proposed policy change. However, as stated above, there is no intention on the part of the Government to alter the change to the rebate list which Minister Hunt announced on 13 October 2017.

    Next week 

    Next week we look at the potential removal of GST on some complementary therapies, and where that proposal has come from.

    PRIOR ARTICLES IN THIS SERIES

    1. Part 1 – The importance of choice
    2. Part 2 – Conventional Medicine
    3. Part 3 – Complementary Medicine
    4. Part 4 – Complementary to Medicine