Private Health Insurance Amendment (Modernising the Private Health Insurance Rebate) Bill 2026
Ms PRICE (Durack) (19:23): I rise to speak on the Private Health Insurance Amendment (Modernising the Private Health Insurance Rebate) Bill 2026 and state my absolute opposition to the changes from the outset. These changes will have very real consequences for senior Australians, particularly for those living on fixed incomes. At the centre of this is a debate about choice, and it is a debate about fairness for 1.5 million Australians.
The issue is whether Australians who have worked hard throughout their lives, paid their taxes, planned for retirement, done what they were told to do and taken out private health insurance should be punished now for doing so. It is also a test of whether the government understands the pressure that senior regional Western Australians are already facing with the rising cost of living.
The government's cruel decision to strip back the private health insurance rebate will leave many older regional Western Australians facing extremely difficult choices. They will have to decide whether to stop paying for essentials such as heating, downgrade their private health cover or drop it altogether. This discussion is not an abstract policy debate.
If those opposite have their way and these changes pass, there will be thousands of regional Western Australians choosing between maintaining their health insurance and paying for other necessities of life. Beyond this, there is a consequence that every Australian and the government will feel. If Australians over the age of 65 years drop their private health insurance, there will be greater pressure placed on our public health system.
The last thing we want in regional Australia is to push older Australians onto the public health queues. Whether you have private health cover or not, you will also be paying for this cash grab from those opposite. The health minister has said that there is 'no good policy reason' to give over-65s a higher tax rebate on their private health cover.
What? Minister, really? Private health insurance plays an important role in helping take the pressure off our public hospitals and health services.
As people get older, they are more likely to require health care. That is one of the reasons that seniors receive a higher rebate on their private health—to encourage them to continue to pay for their private health cover. This isn't about giving seniors some special privilege; it recognises the reality that the need for health care increases with age.
It doesn't decrease. And, if we maintain a strong private health system, this helps to take pressure off our public system. This is a good policy reason for all Australians.
National Seniors Australia has found that as many as 45 per cent of people whose sole source of income is the age pension hold private health insurance. That shows just the sort of demographic that is being targeted by this government's changes. They're not wealthy Australians with enormous disposable incomes, off to Europe every year, living large; they are pensioners who have made the decision to prioritise their health and maintain their private cover.
I, like many of those on this side, have heard from numerous people who have been paying their cover for decades. They were told to invest in it, and now they would just feel like the rug is being pulled out from underneath them. Former Australian Medical Association president Dr Michael Gannon has described those people as 'individuals who have decided to put their health above the holidays and their leisure', and I think there are literally hundreds of thousands of Australians out there who have done that.
That observation tells us everything: we should not be treating this group of Australians as an easy source of additional government revenue. People who have made responsible decisions about their health should not be punished for doing so. This issue matters deeply to people across Durack.
Following the budget in May, I created a survey which was sent directly to all those 65 years and over in Durack asking if they could or could not afford the extra costs and if the changes to the rebate would force them to cancel their private health cover. I want to firstly thank all of those who took the time to complete the survey and return it to my office.
The response was significant. At the last count, we had received 2,355 responses from Durack constituents. Out of the responses, there were 2,312 who said they cannot afford the extra and either will or may cancel their private health cover.
Just 43 told me they can afford to pay extra for their health insurance. With the time remaining, I would like to give a sample of some of the comments that people made. Stephen, aged 69, from Warrnambool, said: 'Private health costs increase every year, and this alone is difficult to afford.
Every year we have to assess if we can afford to keep paying for private health.' Norman, aged 79, from Moora, said, 'Get rid of Labor!' Thomas, aged 94, from Geraldton, said, 'My bank balance goes south very fast.' And John Anderson, aged 69, from Drummond, said: 'The government's mishandling of the economy and the NDIS means they are looking at ways to save money and raise more taxes with their capital gains changes.
As usual, Labor has stuffed up again.' Let's finish on Annette, 72 years, from West End, Geraldton. She said: 'Absolute disgrace that over-65s are being penalised with reduced rebates—generally, over-65s have less income from employment, and this reduces again as they age, as opposed to younger private health participants, who have greater access to employment opportunities.' I thank you all for taking the time to complete the survey—and it's not too late to complete the survey.
We need to send a message to this government that their mean and nasty changes to people over the age of 65 have not gone unnoticed, and this government will be punished. Debate interrupted.