AUSTRALIAN CAPITAL TERRITORY

AMENDMENTS OF THE AUSTRALIAN CAPITAL TERRITORY HEALTH COMMISSION (CHARGES) REGULATIONS

ISSUED BY THE AUTHORITY OF THE MINISTER OF STATE FOR HEALTH

EXPLANATORY STATEMENT

No. 24 of 1977

	The Minister of State for Health has amended the Health Commission (Charges) Regulations under the Health Commission Ordinance 1975 to introduce a new scale of accommodation charges for nursing homes operated by the Capital Territory Health Commission and to introduce a scale of charges for pathology services provided by the Commission.

	The Regulations have been amended to allow Commission nursing homes to charge new rates in accordance with the major changes to the nursing home benefits arrangements which apply from 1 October 1977 and which were announced in the Budget.  The new basic daily charge for ordinary care patients will be $20.35 and the new basic daily charge for extensive care patients will be $26.35.

	The Regulations have also been amended to allow the Commission to introduce charges for pathology services in line with the Government’s announcement in the recent Budget that charges would be introduced for services provided by Commonwealth Pathology Laboratories.  The new charges are equivalent to the benefit payable in respect of pathology services set out in Part 7 of the table of medical services in Schedule 1 to the Health Insurance Act 1973 as in force on 1 October 1977.  There are, however, certain exemptions from the new pathology charges and these are set out in sub-regulation 6B(3).