Labor to try again on private health insurance rebate
By Julian DrapeMon Nov 16 23:55:09 EST 2009
Mon Nov 16 12:55:09 UTC 2009
FED: Labor to try again on private health insurance rebate
CANBERRA, Nov 16 AAP - The Rudd government is pushing ahead with its plan to means test the private health insurance rebate, with Labor to reintroduce the once-defeated legislation on Thursday.
The government suffered a major setback in September when all non-government senators voted down its draft laws aimed at means testing the 30 per cent rebate on private health insurance premiums.
But the government isn't giving up on its plan to cut the subsidy for singles earning more than $75,000 a year and couples earning more than $150,000.
A spokeswoman for Health Minister Nicola Roxon told AAP the legislation would be reintroduced into the lower house on Thursday.
The government says the measure could still be a double-dissolution election trigger.
But for that to be the case the reintroduced legislation can't pass the lower house until December 9 - three months after it was originally defeated in the Senate.
Parliament is set to rise for the summer break on November 26.
On Monday, Ms Roxon said the latest health insurance membership figures showed more and more Australians were joining funds.
Some 44.7 per cent were covered in September.
"This is the highest proportion of people with hospital insurance since December 2001," Ms Roxon said in a statement.
"More than 75,000 extra people are now covered by private hospital insurance, and more than 100,000 extra people have general treatment or ancillary cover (compared with June)."
Ms Roxon said means testing the rebate would make private health insurance "fairer and more sustainable".
"This measure is part of the government's reform of the health system, will save about $1.9 billion over the next four years, and allow the government to invest more in better services, new medicines and improved technology," the health minister said.
But the coalition believes the changes deserve to be knocked back because Labor promised before the last election not to change the rebate.
"We did not sign up to a democracy that just rubber stamps every wish of this government," opposition treasury spokesman Joe Hockey said after the measure was defeated in September.
