Retirees with superannuation balances of $1. pay and pay no tax and get annual imputation cheques of $63,000.
- Professor of Health Economics, University of Technology Sydney
Health announcements in the federal budget include a slow lifting of the Medicare rebate freeze, money for new medicines, and an increase in the Medicare levy to fund the NDIS.
The 30% subsidy for private health insurance was predicted to be a bad and costly policy many years ago. And 20 years later, the only thing that’s changed is the $6 billion-plus hole in the budget.
The 5.6% increase amounts to the average family paying about $300 more a year for an average policy.
Removing subsidies for the 50% with private health insurance is politically unpalatable. But scrapping rebates for ancillary services can be a good place to start.
The IPO of Medibank Private is set to take place on November 25, and the indicative share price range in the prospectus released today suggests a market capitalisation of between A$4.3 billion and A$5.5…
Restrictions on retail trading hours, taxis, pharmacies and parallel imports should be lifted according to a far-reaching draft report by the Competition Policy Review. Professor Ian Harper’s new report…
While the federal election is still months away, issues of health funding are already dominating the news. A Grattan Institute report released yesterday, for instance, noted the greatest budgetary pressure…
The government finally got its bill on means-testing private health insurance rebates for high-income households through the House of Representatives this morning. Fortunately, the dire predictions about…
Could it be a case of third time lucky for the Gillard Government’s plan for means testing of private health insurance? Any legislation will require the support of four of the six cross-benchers. The Government…
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