| Publication: | The Australian |
|---|---|
| Date: | 22 May 2009 |
| Section: | Health |
Siobhain Ryan
Article excerpt:
ALMOST 1 million people are likely to drop or downgrade their private hospital cover as a result of the Government's budget cuts to the sector, the first industry analysis of the changes has found. The Australian Health Insurance Association forecast directly challenges Treasury estimates of the effect of the Rudd Government's means test on the private health insurance rebate, predicting 10 times the drop out from the measure.
The Treasury modelling, which has not been released, expects only 25,000 people to exit private health insurance, with 99.7 per cent of members to retain their cover. Last week's budget slashed $1.8billion from private health insurance subsidies, progressively reducing rebates for singles earning more than $75,000 and couples earning more than $150,000.
