Wealthy `rort' Health Rebate
Illawarra Mercury
Saturday February 13, 1999
Private health insurance rebate rules would have to be tightened if high earners were abusing the system to avoid the Medicare levy surcharge, a parliamentary committee has been told.
The 30 per cent rebate is not means-tested but individuals earning more than $50,000 a year or couples earning $100,000 are charged a one per cent Medicare levy surcharge if they do not take private cover.
Opposition family services and aged care spokesman Chris Evans raised concerns about people buying cheap insurance products to avoid the surcharge and then entering hospital as a public patient, avoiding out-of-pocket expenses which many privately insured patients face.
``Is that not a problem we are dealing with already and do not these products just exacerbate that?" Senator Evans asked departmental officers at a Senate estimates hearing this week.
Health and Aged Care Department secretary Andrew Podger said it was not new that people with private cover declined to use it in hospital but it did not appear to be happening in large numbers.
Should a large number of people take out ``artificial cover" the Government would have to re-examine the issue.
``If there was evidence of it happening in large numbers, yes, we would have to take action," Mr Podger said.
``It is not, at this stage, a major part of the problem that we are addressing."
© 1999 Illawarra Mercury
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