NATIONAL HEALTH REGULATIONS (AMENDMENT) 1994 NO. 296

NATIONAL HEALTH REGULATIONS (AMENDMENT) 1994 NO. 296

STATUTORY RULES 1994 No. 296

Issued by Authority of the Minister for Human Services and Health

National Health Act 1951

National Health Regulations (Amendment)

Subsection 140(1) of the National Health Act 1953 (the Act) provides that the Governor-General may make regulations, prescribing all matters which by the Act are required or permitted to be prescribed.

A number of government nursing homes have previously been prescribed by regulation as adjusted fee government nursing homes for the purposes of section 4AAAA of the Act on 1 May, 1 June, 1 July and 1 November 1993, 1 May, 1 June 1994 and 1 July 1994. This amended regulation is to prescribe one additional nursing home as an adjusted fee government nursing home.

Currently, proprietors of government nursing homes receive a fixed rate of benefit for each nursing home resident. The rate of benefit paid in respect of such residents has been frozen since 1985. In the 1992 Federal Budget, the Government announced its intention that government nursing homes be brought into the care aggregated module (CAM) and the modified standard aggregate module (SAM) funding system which applies only to adjusted fee government nursing homes. The CAM:modified SAM 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:modified SAM funding system, they must be prescribed as adjusted fee government nursing homes for the purposes of section 4AAAA of the Act.

The purpose of the amendment is to prescribe the Merv Irvine Nursing Home as an additional adjusted fee government nursing home with effect from 1 September 1994.

The nursing home prescribed is set out in the Attachment.

In addition, it is necessary to amend the Schedule to delete the former Item 3056 of the Schedule, a section of Kingston Centre Nursing Home, as this home has now closed.

The regulations commenced on 1 September 1994.

ATTACHMENT