Prostheses List Advisory Committee

Its primary role is to advise the Minister about the listing of prostheses and their appropriate benefits in the Prostheses List. The List is made under the Private Health Insurance Act 2007 and the Private Health Insurance (Prostheses) Rules which require private health insurers to pay benefits for those prostheses. The Prostheses List arrangements, the PLAC and its predecessor, the PDC, were established to control inflation in private health insurance benefits paid for prostheses. The Prostheses List plays an important role in ensuring the sustainability of the Australian private health insurance system, and helps to achieve the Government's policy objective of ensuring private health insurance remains affordable and accessible to all Australians. The committee is comprised of an independent Chair, with members having expertise in current clinical practice, health insurance, consumer health, health economics, health policy, private hospitals, and the medical device industry. In the 2021-22 Federal Budget, the Government has committed $22 million over four years to improve the Prostheses List and its arrangements. As part of this measure, the Prostheses List Advisory Committee's function and membership will be reviewed.