The government would now lift the threshold to only A$75,000, with ongoing indexation for inflation
Nicola Roxon, Health Minister of Australia, has announced that the government will water down plans to restructure the private health insurance. The move is intended to win support in the upper house Senate to pass the new laws – reported inChiroeco.com.
The government had earlier planned to increase income thresholds to A$100,000 ($84,000) before Australians must pay a 1% surcharge on their income, if they do not have private health insurance.
But, Mr. Roxon stated that the government would now lift the threshold to only A$75,000 (with ongoing indexation for inflation), in a compromise designed to ensure minor party and independent support for the laws in the Senate.
The reforms are expected to be welcomed by private health insurers, who had warned that the original proposals would have led to 400,000 people dropping their private health insurance.