New figures show private health industry still strong, says Nicola Roxon

Article excerpt:

FRESH figures fly in the face of warnings that changes to the Medicare levy surcharge would prompt an exodus from private health insurance.In the three months to December last year, private health insurance membership grew by 54,000 people, or 0.1 percentage points to hit the highest rate in seven years.

The membership figures, released on Wednesday, are the first out since the Medicare levy surcharge threshold was increased from $50,000 to $70,000 for individuals and $100,000 to $140,000 for families.They contradict warnings from treasury and the private health insurance industry's that it was in for a massive membership decline.

Article summary:

• Health Minister Nicola Roxon said the figures demonstrated the private health insurance industry was still strong.
• The government wanted to set the income levels at which the Medicare surcharge levy kicks in at $75,000 for singles and $150,000 for families, but was forced to broker a compromise deal after its initial proposal was held up in the Senate.

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