NATIONAL HEALTH REGULATIONS (AMENDMENT) 1993 NO. 85

NATIONAL HEALTH REGULATIONS (AMENDMENT) 1993 NO. 85

STATUTORY RULES 1993 No. 85

Issued by Authority of the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Community Services

National Health Act 1953

National Health Regulations (Amendment)

Subsection 140(1) of the National Health Act 1953 (the Act) enables the GovernorGeneral to make regulations, prescribing all matters which by the Act are required or permitted to be prescribed, including the prescribing of nursing homes as adjusted fee government nursing homes for the purposes of section 4AAAA of the Act.

A number of government nursing homes in Victoria are to be prescribed as adjusted fee government nursing homes under the the Act.

Currently, proprietors of government nursing homes receive a fixed rate of benefit for each nursing home patient. The rate of benefit paid in respect of such patients has been frozen since 1985. The Government has announced its intention that government nursing homes be brought into the care aggregated module (CAM) funding system which applies to privately operated and adjusted fee government nursing homes. The CAM funding system will result in higher levels of benefit being paid to the proprietors of nursing homes that become adjusted fee government nursing homes. In order for existing government nursing homes to become adjusted fee government nursing homes and thereby be brought into the CAM funding system, they must be prescribed as adjusted fee government nursing homes for the purposes of section 4AAAA of the Act.

It is proposed that groups of government nursing homes throughout Australia will progressively be prescribed as adjusted fee government nursing homes for the purpose of the Act. On 1 May 1993, the first group of government nursing homes in Victoria became adjusted fee government nursing homes.

On the 1 June 1993, a second group of government nursing homes in Victoria will become adjusted fee government nursing homes.

Accordingly, the Regulations prescribe the following government nursing homes in Victoria as adjusted fee government nursing homes from 1 June 1993:

The Regulations will commence on 1 June 1993.