"Sir John Howard" wrote in message
news:d65d0bf7-73b2-47fa-ae99-283f5910f20a@w1g2000prd.googlegroups.com...
> Medicare windfall will see some save $1500
>
> http://www.news.com.au/business/story/0,23636,23674310-462,00.html
>
> MORE than one million Australians will be eligible for a windfall of
> up to $1500 under a Rudd Government decision to revise the Medicare
> surcharge.
>
> Treasurer Wayne Swan will unveil the overhaul in Tuesday's Budget, the
> Herald Sun has reported.
>
> Singles will be able to earn $100,000 before they have to pay the 1
> per cent surcharge on their salaries - up from $50,000. Couples will
> be able to earn $150,000 - up from $100,000 - before they are slugged.
>
> It is the first time the surcharge has been overhauled since it was
> introduced by the Howard government in 1997. It was designed to
> penalise high-income earners without private medical insurance.
>
> But Treasurer Wayne Swan last night said that as wages rose over the
> past decade, the surcharge had penalised working families.
>
> "The thresholds are catching more and more people on average incomes
> in the net each year, slugging them hundreds of dollars," he said.
>
> "Hard-working families have really been put in a classic rock-and-a-
> hard-place position on this issue. Either they sign up for what can be
> expensive private coverage, or the surcharge takes 1 per cent out of
> their income every year."
>
> It is estimated 1.2 million single Australians earn between $50,000
> and $100,000. Another 600,000 couples have a combined taxable income
> between $100,000 and $150,000.
>
> Health Minister Nicola Roxon said Labor flagged the surcharge shake-up
> while in opposition. The surcharge has raised more than $1 billion
> since it was introduced 11 years ago.
>
> At the time the average wage was $36,000 and a person on $50,000 was
> considered a high-income earner. Eleven years later, the average male
> wage has climbed above $55,000.
>
> Lifting of the thresholds is likely to encourage many Australians to
> drop private health cover.
>
> The decision will spark debate over its possible effect on the take-up
> of private health insurance and the effects on premiums and the public
> hospital system.
>
> The previous government adopted a carrot and stick approach to private
> health cover - giving those who took insurance a 30 per cent rebate,
> and hitting those who didn't with the levy.
>
> Private health cover has stabilised in recent years with 10 million
> Australians covered by private health insurance. But insurance
> premiums have risen well above the inflation rate.
>
> Singles pay between $600 and $1800 a year for private cover, while
> families shell out between $1200 and $4000, even after the 30 per cent
> rebate is taken into account.
Nicola Rocks Off dropped the ball on health premium increases; so the Govt
is going into damage control. It may prove to be a good negotiating tactic
for next year. If health funds are contemplating further massive increases,
they'll also have to contemplate the terrible consequences of a further
increase in the Medicare threshold.
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