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HEALTH FUND UPDATES DECEMBER 2021

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Fee Schedule Updates

 

•         The West Australian VMP schedule has been updated, effective 1 December 2021.

•         QldWC has been updated, effective December 2021.

•         SAWC has been updated, effective November 2021.

 

St Lukes Co-payment Increase

 

•         There is a new schedule for St Lukes Health, effective January 2022. Also from January, St Lukes will allow a co-payment of $500 per claim, where previously this was limited to 10% of the St Lukes fee.

 

Other fund changes

 

•         RT Health and Transport have been purchased by HCF. Previously they were part of the AHSA scheme. Fee schedules in AA should be adjusted to use the HCF schedule. For details on this, please see this FAQ.

•         ING Health became a part of NIB from 11 October 2021, as described here.

 

BUPA Fee Reminder

 

•         From December 2021, BUPA’s state-based fee schedules change to a national system using separate No Gap and Known Gap schedules.  AA has been modified to manage this process as seamlessly as possible. The new schedules were incorporated into a previous AA items update.

•         Clients who are currently registered for Known Gap billing with BUPA and wish to continue this way don’t need to do anything.

•         Your fee preference can be set in AA for each individual provider and provider number. The default is for Known Gap billing.

•         Full details are given in this FAQ on the Access Anaesthetic website.

 

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Reminder - ASA RVG Unit Value Update to $91

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The AMA has published a new maximum recommended RVG unit rate of $91, effective from 1 November 2021. Because there is no obligation to use the maximum rate, it is up to the individual AA user to enter the rate they wish to use for regular accounts, or TP and WC accounts. This can be done in Options > Unit Values. A list showing the approved unit value history is provided on this screen for reference.

 

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Program Update Version 10.15

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The latest version of the AA program is 10.15. There have been a number of minor updates since November as described on our What’s New page with the most recent changes listed below.

•         Adjusted the co-payment warning to allow for a $500 co-payment for St Lukes from Jan 2022.

•         Adjusted HCF no-gap/known-gap warning to check the specific account's provider, rather than default provider.

•         Adjusted SMS sending form to insert correct 'To' number depending on which button is used, rather than which form is open. (Avoids inserting dr's number if Options form is open).

•         Added shortcuts for quick email account (Alt 5) and Quick email receipt (Alt 6). These only work if on the Fee or Payment pages.