PRIVATE MEMBERS' BUSINESS
Ms LANDRY (Capricornia—Chief Nationals Whip) (13:27): I rise to support the motion moved by the member for Mallee, Dr Anne Webster. At the heart of this debate is a simple question: why is the Albanese government stripping back the private health insurance rebate for older Australians at precisely the time they are most likely to need health care? From 1 April 2027, the proposed change would remove the higher rebate for people aged 65 and over and determine support by income alone.
More than 3.1 million Australians aged 65 and over hold private hospital cover. Many have maintained it for decades because it provides choice and certainty as their health needs increase while helping to ease demand on public hospitals. That choice matters across Capricornia.
For a pensioner in Rockhampton, a retired couple on the Capricorn Coast or an older Australian in Sarina or Moranbah, private cover can provide peace of mind and greater certainty about when and where they receive treatment. These are not necessarily wealthy Australians. National Seniors Australia found that as many as 45 per cent of people whose sole income is the age pension hold private health insurance, often making sacrifices elsewhere to keep it.
Former Australian Medical Association president Dr Michael Gannon has said that the measure will affect people who have put their health ahead of holidays and leisure. Labor's change would leave them choosing between other essentials, downgrading their cover or abandoning it altogether. For a Capricornia couple with gold hospital cover, the additional cost could exceed $1,000 a year.
That is money no longer available for groceries, electricity, rates, fuel or travel to medical appointments. Those pressures are especially acute in regional communities, where household budgets are already stretched and accessing care can involve long distances. In Capricornia, the impact is compounded by distance.
Older residents may already face the cost of fuel, accommodation and time away from family to attend treatment in Rockhampton or further afield. Adding another insurance cost only makes it harder for them to plan for their health care with confidence. If older residents drop or downgrade their cover, the need for hip replacements, cataract surgery, diagnostic tests and specialist treatment does not disappear.
More demand will fall on facilities such as Rockhampton Hospital, which is a critical hub for Central Queensland. This risks longer elective surgery lists, longer waits for specialists and more regional patients travelling hundreds of kilometres for care. That concern extends beyond the federal coalition.
The Labor governments of New South Wales and South Australia, together with the coalition governments of Queensland and Tasmania, have opposed the change. These governments run our public hospitals, and Canberra should heed their warnings about the capacity of those systems to absorb additional demand. There are also serious questions about the government's modelling.
It estimates that 44,000 older Australians will leave private health insurance, yet other estimates are considerably higher. External modelling cited by Medibank suggested that up to 91,000 people could drop their cover. National Seniors Australia surveyed 2,042 older people and found that 8.4 per cent were considering dropping hospital cover and another 12.5 per cent were considering reducing it.
If reflected across the broader population, it estimates that up to 270,000 older Australians could leave and up to 400,000 could downgrade their cover. With figures varying so widely, Australians deserve transparent modelling of the effect on premiums, pensioners, insurance participation, elective surgery waiting lists and rural and regional hospitals. The government should demonstrate that any claimed budget savings will not simply become a greater cost for households and state health systems.
This comes down to fairness, choice and sound health policy. Australians who have worked hard and paid for private health insurance throughout their working lives should be encouraged, not penalised, for maintaining it in their retirement. The coalition will oppose Labor's cuts to the private health insurance rebate.
I support the member for Mallee's motion and call on the Albanese government to scrap the proposed change. Making private health insurance less affordable does not make health care cheaper. It shifts costs onto older Australians and shifts demand onto public hospitals.
Capricornia cannot afford that additional burden. The DEPUTY SPEAKER ( Mr Wilkie ): The time allotted for this debate has expired. The debate is adjourned and the resumption of the debate will be made an order of the day for the next sitting.
Sitting suspended from 13 : 32 to 16 : 0 1