Private health insurance may soon be dearer for many

The Federal government is edging closer to securing legislation that would means test the Howard government’s 30 per cent private health care rebate.

If it succeeds, the rebate would start to fade out for singles on incomes of $83,000 a year and families with combined incomes of $166,000.

It would disappear altogether for singles earning $129,000 and couples earning more than $258,000.

The Federal Health Minister, Tanya Plibersek, said this would save the Federal government $2.4 billion over three years.

The government will need the votes of at least three independents, to get this bill through the House of Representatives.

If it does, passage of this measure in the Senate would be virtually assured, as the Greens, who hold the balance of power in the upper house, support it.

The support of one independent in the lower house, Rob Oakshott, is seen as critical to the government’s chances.

Mr Oakshott has not yet declared his decision.

He is expected to do so next week.

If the measure is passed, people whose incomes are above the limits set by the government, could expect to pay more for their private health insurance.

Ms Plibersek, herself, is confident.

“Well I think that this is a very important piece of legislation and I think it will pass because of the merits of the case,” she said.

Speaking in an ABC radio interview, Ms Plibersek added “We’re talking about a fairness issue here.

“ We’re talking about people in the community – some of them on say $50,000 a year who can’t afford private health insurance themselves – subsidising the private health insurance of people including very high income earners, through the tax system.”

Ms Plibersek said Labor believes that is not fair.

“So we’re seeking to reduce the subsidy given to high income earners and remove the subsidy given to the highest income earners,” she said.

Related stories:

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2. Rich “subsidised” on private health insurance:Labor

Extra help for flood victims

The Federal government is offering extra help to communities hit by floods in and Queensland and New South Wales.

The Prime Minister Julia Gillard said clean-up and recovery grants of up to $25,000 would be provided to communities in Queensland.

Similar grants, of up to $15,000, are being offered in New South Wales.

In Queensland primary producers, small businesses and not-for-profit organisations in the local government areas (LGAs) of Balonne, Barcaldine, Blackall-Tambo, Maranoa, Murweh and Paroo will be eligible.

In New South Wales, Ms Gillard the said the local government areas of  Moree, Narrabri and Gwydir would qualify.

Full details

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Child care assistance:don’t miss out

Is  your family claiming child care assistance?

Up to 100,000 Australian families that might be eligible are not getting this help.

That estimate comes from the Minister for Early Childhood and Child Care, Kate Ellis.

She urged people  to check their situation.

“I would urge families using child care to visit the mychild.gov.au website and access the estimator tool, in order to find out what assistance they could be missing out on,” Ms Ellis said.

The Child Care Benefit and the Child Care Rebate payments are designed to help working families meet the costs of child care and support parents who are returning to the workforce.

“Our Government is delivering record levels of investment in child care affordability and we want to make sure that all eligible Australian families are taking that assistance up,” Ms Ellis added.

She said it would set aside a record $18.1 billion, for this kind of assistance, over the next four years.

So what is available?

Ms Ellis said  that in 2008, the Federal Government had increased the Child Care Rebate from 30 to 50 per cent of parents’ out of pocket costs.

It had also increased the maximum amount per child from $4,354 to $7,500 a year.

“As a result of these changes, the percentage of family income spent on child care fell from 13 per cent in 2004 to 7.5 per cent in 2011.,” Ms Ellis said

Since July last year the Government has also given parents the option to receive Child Care Rebate payments fortnightly, to help ease cost of living pressures being faced by many families, Ms Ellis said.

Still confused?

Why not ring the Family Assistance Office on 13 61 50 to make inquiries?

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Big – phased – pay rises for community workers

The Prime Minister, Julia Gillard, has hailed  big pay rises granted to  community sector workers as “historic” and “a significant advance” for equal pay for women.

Fair Work Australia  granted rises of between 23 and 45 per cent to about 150,000 workers that Ms Gillard said are among the lowest paid in the nation.

The Prime Minister said 120,000 of threse workers are women, working with difficult jobs in a caring industry.

Their work included counseling families in crisis, running homeless shelters and working with victims of domestic violence and sexual assault.

Fair Work Australia had previously identified these workers as  underpaid.

The ABC reports that in its ruling today, Fair Work Australia said the highest paid employees would receive a 41 per cent, or $24,000 pay rise, bringing their annual salary to $83,000.

Workers on the lowest award rates will receive a rise of 19 per cent, an increase of around $6,000 per year.

The new rates would be phased in over an eight-year period beginning on December 1.

Ms Gillard said an appropriate phasing in period is “unquestionably needed.”

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Your living costs:How they have changed

The living costs of Australia’s working families rose by 3.3 per cent last year.

That is slightly above the nation’s adjusted inflation rate of 3.1 per cent.

Although directly comparable wage figures are not yet available,  the best indications suggest that wage growth, over the same time, would have covered that rise.

The latest available wage figures show average weekly earnings in Australia rose by 4.7 per cent in the 12 months to the end of August.

The Bureau of Statistics also reported today that the average cost of living for Australian pensioners rose by 3 per cent in 2011.

Both groups benefited from lower fruit and vegetable prices in the final three months of last year.

The main price rises, for working families, were in the cost of domestic holiday travel and accommodation, rents and interest charges.

The living costs, faced by pensioners, fell by 0.4 per cent in the December quarter.

They made some savings on lower pharmaceutical charges but, like other Australians, pensioners also faced higher rents in that time.

Self funded retirees saw their living costs fall by 0.1 per cent in the final three months of last year, but their costs, too, rose by 3.3 per cent over the year.

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Disability Insurance “aspirational” Abbott

Tony Abbott describes the National Disability Insurance Scheme, recommended by the Productivity Commission, as  “aspirational,” telling journalists at the National Press Club that it would have to wait until Federal budgets returned to surplus.

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Private health fund rebate in doubt

The Federal government is, once again, thinking of  means testing  the private health insurance rebate.

Its Health Minister, Tanya Plibersek, said a new report shows that Australia’s private health insurance sector is “healthy and robust.”

The industry had been struggling when this incentive was introduced in 1997.

The government, then, wanted to encourage Australians to take out private health insurance.

Ms Plibersek said it is no longer appropriate to persist with measures that leavelow and middle income earners “subsidising the health insurance of millionaires.”

The Opposition reacted sharply.

Bronwyn Bishop, Shadow Minister for Seniors, described Ms Plibersek’s announcement as “a deliberate attack on senior Australians.”

Ms Bishop said the government would be making its third attempt to apply a means test to private health insurance.

She said older Australians, who have with private health insurance, would be “hit hardest “ as they are likely to be on fixed incomes and are already under pressure from increased cost of living expenses “led by rising electricity costs.”

“The head of the Private Healthcare Australia, Dr Michael Armitage confirmed to me today that should Labor’s means testing go through, premiums would be forced up 10 per cent…,”Ms Bishop said.

However Ms Plibersek said that if the plan applied now individuals earning up to $80,000 a year – and families on incomes of up to $160,000 – would not be affected, by the proposed change.

“Families would need to be earning around $248,000 or more to lose the rebate entirely,” she added.

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Close glaring welfare gaps:ACOSS

There are still “glaring gaps” in Australia’s national efforts to reduce poverty and exclusion, according to the Australian Council of Social Service.

The welfare lobby group is urging the Federal government to remember that Australia’s poor are most at risk, in troubled times.

That’s because structural changes in the economy pose social as well as economic challenges.

The group says Australia’s neediest people should not  suffer through tight restrictions in this year’s Federal budget.

Wasteful spending should be cut, instead.

ACOSS makes these points in a pre-budget statement, setting out its priorities for the new financial year.

Its Acting CEO Dr Tessa Boyd-Caine says:  ‘There is no question that, through good economic stewardship, Australia has fared relatively well during the recent global economic downturn and our unemployment rate remains relatively low.”

However, she adds: “… it is also clear that, at the beginning of 2012, progress in reducing unemployment further has stalled.

” Australia’s economic growth prospects are uncertain in the short term, and structural changes in the economy pose social challenges as well as economic ones.”

Predictably, ACOSS is recommending some extra spending, which it says would cost an estimated $3.6 billion.

These measures would include:-

• · Raising the level of payments for Newstart Allowance, Youth Allowance and other Allowance payments for single adults and young people living independently of their parents by $50 per week as recommended by the Henry Review.
• ·Doubling the number of places in the new wage subsidy scheme for long term unemployed people and substantially boost the resources available to Job Service Australia providers to work intensively with this group  and
• ·Developing a national population-based oral health program, in place of the Medicare Chronic Disease Dental Scheme and Teen Dental Program.

But it also recommends savings of an  estimated $4.8 billion, that would include:-

• · Removing the private health insurance rebate from ancillary health cover
• · Reforming the tax treatment of private trusts to reduce tax avoidance and
• · Fairer and more consistent tax treatment of lump sum termination payments such as ‘golden handshakes’

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