Private Health Insurance (Transitional Provisions and Consequential Amendments) Act 2007

Each provision of this Act specified in column 1 of the table commences, or is taken to have commenced, in accordance with column 2 of the table. Any other statement in column 2 has effect according to its terms.

This table relates only to the provisions of this Act as originally passed by both Houses of the Parliament and assented to. It will not be expanded to deal with provisions inserted in this Act after assent.

Column 3 of the table contains additional information that is not part of this Act. Information in this column may be added to or edited in any published version of this Act.

The Private Health Insurance Incentives Act 1998 is amended by this Act so that it applies only to financial years ending on or before 30 June 2007. The Act will be repealed on 30 June 2008. (See Schedules 1 and 3.)

During the period beginning at the commencement time and ending at the time at which the Private Health Insurance Incentives Act 1998 (the 1998 Act) is repealed, a reference in the 1998 Act to a matter specified for an item in column 2 of the table is taken to be a reference to the matter specified for that item in column 3 of the table.

Subsection (1) also applies in relation to a provision of the 1998 Act that continues to operate after the repeal of that Act because of:

this Part; or

section 8 of the Acts Interpretation Act 1901.

Section 11‑50 of the Private Health Insurance Incentives Act 1998 continues to apply, after 30 June 2008, to a private health insurer to whom an application was made under section 11‑50 of that Act, as if it had not been repealed.

The Chief Executive Medicare (within the meaning of the Human Services (Medicare) Act 1973) may continue to approve forms under section 11‑50 for the purposes of subsection (1), as if the references in that section to the Medicare Australia CEO were references to the Chief Executive Medicare.

Part 2‑3 of the new Act applies to an amount of premiums worked out on or after the commencement time.

Schedule 2 to the National Health Act 1953 continues to apply in relation to any amount of premiums worked out before the commencement time.

the reference to permitted days without cover includes a reference to days before the commencement time that were permitted days without hospital cover within the meaning of Schedule 2 to the National Health Act 1953 as in force before the commencement time; and

the reference to periods during which the adult was taken to have had hospital cover includes periods during which the adult was taken to have had hospital cover under subclause 4(2) of that Schedule.

If, immediately before the commencement time, contributors to a health benefits fund conducted by a registered organization were covered by an applicable benefits arrangement of the organization, then:

at the commencement time, the arrangement is, to the extent to which it covered a particular contributor and his or her dependants (if any), taken to be a complying health insurance policy under which that contributor and those dependants (if any) are insured; and

that part of the arrangement continues to be taken to be a complying health insurance policy until the earlier of:

1 July 2008; and

the day on which a relevant change (see subsection (3)) to that part of the arrangement takes effect.

If, immediately before the commencement time, contributors to a health benefits fund conducted by a registered organization were covered by a table of ancillary health benefits of the organization, then:

at the commencement time, the table is, to the extent to which it covered a particular contributor and his or her dependants (if any), taken to be a complying health insurance policy under which that contributor and those dependants (if any) are insured; and

that part of the table continues to be taken to be a complying health insurance policy until the earlier of:

1 July 2008; and

the day on which a relevant change (see subsection (3)) to that part of the table takes effect.

If, more than 15 days after the commencement time, a private health insurer makes a change to its rules, or to anything else, in a way that affects:

the amount of premiums payable under an arrangement or table that is taken to be a complying health insurance policy because of subsection (1) or (2); or

the treatments covered by such a policy; or

a benefit for treatment covered by such a policy;

the policy was taken to be a complying health insurance policy because of section 10; and

at the end of a day, the policy ceases to be taken to be a complying health insurance policy; and

at the start of the next day, the policy would be a complying health insurance policy except that it does not meet the premium requirement in section 66‑5 of the new Act; and

the amount of premiums payable under the policy for the period starting on that day is the same as the amount that would have been payable under the policy for the same period if it had started on the previous day.

a no gap prosthesis; or

a gap permitted prosthesis;