00:01So, the federal government is moving to wind back the rebate that Australians aged 65 and
00:07over receive on their private health cover, banking about $3 billion to spend elsewhere
00:12in the aged care system.
00:13But this proposal has come under increasing scrutiny from political opponents, from the
00:19states and territories, the private health insurance industry and the aged care sector.
00:23In defending these changes, Health Minister Mark Butler has repeatedly said that about
00:2844,000 people are expected to dump their cover as a result of the changes.
00:34But new health department analysis released under freedom of information laws indicates
00:38that that's only in one year and that in the following year, by the end of the decade, about
00:4378,000 people are expected to dump their private health cover as a result of these proposed changes.
00:50The coalition and crossbenchers have accused the government of failing to be upfront with
00:54the public about this.
00:56Take a listen to Independent MP Monique Ryan.
01:00This is a government which is refusing to be transparent about a really important measure,
01:04and Australians need to hold them to account for their lack of transparency and their dishonesty
01:10about what they're planning to do to the health care cover of over 65s.
01:15We know the federal government's really counting on this $3 billion.
01:18It's already promised to funnel it into other projects in the aged care sector, like more aged
01:23care beds, for example.
01:25In a statement, a government spokesperson said that this was about making private health insurance
01:30fairer, bringing the rebate for Australians aged over 65 in line with those younger than
01:37that.
01:37Also, overall, the numbers indicated that more Australians would still continue to get private
01:45health insurance.
01:46The spokesperson also said that the additional rebate wasn't the best way to spend taxpayer
01:51funds and that that money could be better used elsewhere in the aged care system.
01:55Now, because the coalition has already said it won't support this legislation, the federal
02:00government needs the Greens to get it over the line.
02:02Again, the Greens have been playing hardball.
02:05They said that they won't support the legislation in its current form.
02:09The ABC understands that one of the things that the Greens are canvassing is exempting pensioners
02:14from these changes.
02:15So that's left the door open for negotiations between the federal government and the Greens.
02:20The clock is ticking down here, though.
02:22The federal government really wants to square these changes away before the private health
02:26insurers submit their proposed premium increases for next year.
