Private Health Insurance
Posted on Friday, 17 February, 2012
66,200 RESIDENTS OF GREY TO BE IMPACTED BY LEGISLATION
TO MEANS TEST PRIVATE HEALTH INSURANCE
Federal Member for Grey Mr Rowan Ramsey said the 66,200 residents of Grey who meet their own hospital expenses by buying private health insurance will all pay extra as a result of the decision by Julia Gillard to break another promise and means test the rebate.
“47.3percent of citizens in the Grey electorate hold private health cover,” Mr Ramsey said. “Considering there are only two small private hospitals in the whole electorate, both on Yorke Peninsula, this indicates people hold the cover for the big emergencies in their lives.
“We have a whole group of people who are prepared to pay for their own medical expenses by insuring.
“Removing themselves from the taxpayer funded system and the government now can’t provide a tax deduction for their efforts.
“Even worse, if individuals earn more than $83,000 or combined family income is more than $166,000 families will be hit with an income tax surcharge if they choose not to insure.”
Mr Ramsey said audit and consulting company Deloittes estimated 1.8million people Australia wide will give up on private health insurance with many more downgrading cover and these are most likely to be fit young families with mortgages.
“The resultant shift to public hospitals will further overload the system leading to longer waiting times,” he said.
“The loss of the healthiest people from the private cover means those who keep their cover can expect their premiums to rise by up to 10 per cent
“It makes me angry that country people with less to gain from private health cover, who are prepared to make the sacrifices to insure, are to be either slugged more for cover or fined for not taking it out.
“This equates to another tax and is another completely broken promise by the Gillard Government.”
Media contact: Leonie Lloyd-Smith (08) 86331744
February 17, 20012.