On 11 May 2021, as part of the 2021-2022 Budget, the Australian Government announced changes to the Prostheses List. The Prostheses List is the schedule to the Private Health Insurance (Prostheses) Rules made under the Private Health Insurance Act 2007.
Through these reforms, the price paid by private health insurers for medical devices, known as prostheses, will be better aligned with the price paid in the public hospital system. Additional improvements will also be made, including better defining which prostheses are eligible for inclusion on the Prostheses List; regrouping the items on the Prostheses List; and updating cost recovery arrangements.
The Office of Best Practice Regulation (OBPR) assessed the quality of the Regulation Impact Statement prepared by the Department of Health as adequate to meet the Government’s RIS requirements. To be consistent with good practice, the RIS would have required greater depth of analysis of the costs and benefits of each option for affected businesses and individuals, including consumers. It also could have provided a stronger evidence base to support a number of the assertions made.
The Department of Health estimates the average annual regulatory costs at $1.81 million.