AUSTRALIAN GOVERNMENT
DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH
HEALTH INSURANCE ACT 1973
Health Insurance (Medicare Benefits Payable in Respect of Professional Services – General Practice Attendance for Assessing Patient Suitability for a COVID-19 Vaccine) Direction 2021
I, Travis Haslam, Assistant Secretary, MBS Policy and Specialist Services Branch, Medical Benefits Division, Health Resourcing Group, delegate for the Minister for Health and Aged Care, acting under subsection 19(2) of the Health Insurance Act 1973 (the Act), hereby:
(1) DIRECT that medicare benefit shall be payable in respect of a professional service to which all of the following apply:
(a) the service is specified in an item in the Health Insurance (Section 3C General Medical Services – General Practice Attendance for Assessing Patient Suitability for a COVID-19 Vaccine) Determination 2021[1], as in force from time to time; and
(b) the service is rendered by or on behalf of a medical practitioner employed or engaged by an entity that:
(i) has signed and provided the Department of Health with a Site Readiness and Declaration form for participation in the Australian COVID-19 Vaccine Roll-out Program; and
(ii) is not a State or Territory, or an authority established by a law of a State or internal Territory; and
(c) the service is not provided at or from a COVID-19 General Practitioner Led Respiratory Clinic, including a COVID-19 General Practitioner Led Respiratory Clinic that is operated by an Aboriginal Controlled Community Health Service.
This Direction shall have effect from the date of signature until 31 December 2021 inclusive, unless earlier revoked.
Date this 23 day of March 2021
Travis Haslam
Assistant Secretary
MBS Policy and Specialist Services Branch
Medical Benefits Division
Health Resourcing Group
Department of Health
[1] Health services specified in the Health Insurance (Section 3C General Medical Services – General Practice Attendance for Assessing Patient Suitability for a COVID-19 Vaccine) Determination 2021 are treated as professional services for the purposes of the Act by the operation of subsection 3C(1) of the Act.