The government's plan to remove age-based top-ups to the private health insurance rebate for people aged 65 and over, from April next year, has been blocked in the Senate, where the opposition, Greens and crossbenchers voted to knock the legislation off the agenda. The government says the change would save $3 billion over four years for aged care, and Health Minister Mark Butler has reintroduced the bill in the House of Representatives. The Greens want pensioners exempted as the price of passage, while Teal independent Monique Ryan cites a Parliamentary Budget Office analysis showing half the savings would come from older Australians least able to afford them. The Health Department estimates about 80,000 people could drop their cover, compared with the government's figure of 44,000. The article notes the pressure is compounded by unemployment reaching 4.7% in September, a five-year high, ahead of the mid-year budget update.
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- Michelle Grattan | Labor reintroduces health insurance rebate | The Advocate
Health Minister Mark Butler reintroduced the bill to remove the age-based top-ups on private health insurance rebates for people 65 and over, a measure the government says would save $3 billion over four years for aged care. After the opposition, Greens and crossbenchers voted it off the agenda in the Senate, the Greens want pensioners exempted as the price of passage. Independent Monique Ryan said Parliamentary Budget Office analysis showed half the savings would come from older Australians least able to afford them, and that the government had claimed 44,000 people might drop their cover, while the Health Department estimates the figure is closer to 80,000. Michelle Grattan notes the fight adds pressure on Treasurer Jim Chalmers as unemployment hit 4.7 per cent in September, a five-year high.
- Michelle Grattan | Labor reintroduces health insurance rebate | Narromine News
Health Minister Mark Butler reintroduced the bill to remove the age-based top-ups on private health insurance rebates for people 65 and over, a measure the government says would save $3 billion over four years for aged care. After the opposition, Greens and crossbenchers voted it off the agenda in the Senate, the Greens want pensioners exempted as the price of passage. Independent Monique Ryan said Parliamentary Budget Office analysis showed half the savings would come from older Australians least able to afford them, and that the government had claimed 44,000 people might drop their cover, while the Health Department estimates the figure is closer to 80,000. Michelle Grattan notes the fight adds pressure on Treasurer Jim Chalmers as unemployment hit 4.7 per cent in September, a five-year high.
- Michelle Grattan | Labor reintroduces health insurance rebate | The Advertiser - Cessnock
The government wants to remove the higher private health insurance rebate paid to people aged 65 and over (larger again from 70) from April next year, saving $3 billion over four years to put into aged care. On Wednesday, the opposition, Greens and crossbenchers joined in the Senate to knock the bill off the government's agenda, with the Greens demanding pensioners be excluded. Health Minister Mark Butler reintroduced the bill in the House of Representatives on Thursday, but its future remains unclear. Teal independent Monique Ryan, citing a Parliamentary Budget Office analysis, says half the savings would come from older Australians least able to afford them. She also says the Health Department puts the number of people who might drop cover at about 80,000, versus the government's 44,000.
- Michelle Grattan | Labor reintroduces health insurance rebate | The Rural
The Albanese government plans to scrap the higher private health insurance rebate for people aged 65 and over, and the extra top-up for those 70 and older, from April next year. It says the change would save $3 billion over four years, which would go into aged care, and frames it as fairer treatment regardless of age. The Senate, with the opposition, Greens and crossbenchers, voted the legislation down, and the Greens want pensioners excluded as the price of passage, arguing "You can't take a billion dollars from 1.2 million pensioners." Health Minister Mark Butler reintroduced the bill in the House of Representatives, but its future was unclear when parliament broke. Teal independent Monique Ryan, citing Parliamentary Budget Office analysis, says much of the savings would come from older Australians least able to pay, and accuses the government of understating the impact: it claimed 44,000 older Australians might drop cover, while the Health Department says the figure is closer to 80,000.
- Michelle Grattan | Labor reintroduces health insurance rebate | Camden Haven Courier
The government wants to remove the age-based top-ups to the private health insurance rebate from April next year, a measure it says would save $3 billion over four years and fund aged care. The opposition, the Greens and crossbench senators joined forces in the Senate to knock the bill off the agenda, and the Greens want pensioners excluded from it. Health Minister Mark Butler reintroduced the bill in the House of Representatives on Thursday, but its future is unclear and negotiations with the Greens are expected in the coming weeks. Teal independent Monique Ryan, citing a Parliamentary Budget Office analysis she commissioned, says half the savings would come from the older Australians least able to afford them, and the Health Department estimates closer to 80,000 people could drop their cover, compared with the 44,000 the government cited. The pressure also weighs on Treasurer Jim Chalmers, as unemployment reached 4.7% in September, a five-year high.
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