Peter Dutton (Dickson, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Health and Ageing) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister for Health and Ageing. Minister, how much will private health insurance premiums rise by as a result of the government forcing half a million people off private health into the public health system? Minister, what discussions has the government had with the states about compensating them for the one-half million extra people who will be joining the public hospital queue?

Nicola Roxon (Gellibrand, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Health and Ageing) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the member for his question. As the member is well aware, the private health insurance funds annually request increases if they think that they are justified. They will do that again, inevitably, at the end of this year, to be assessed and announced in the new year. That is the normal process and that will not change. We have made absolutely clear to the private health insurance funds that we will not regard favourably any requests that are based on the removal or changing of the threshold of the Medicare levy surcharge.

Peter Dutton (Dickson, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Health and Ageing) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr Speaker—

Nicola Roxon (Gellibrand, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Health and Ageing) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Don’t you want to know the answer?

Peter Dutton (Dickson, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Health and Ageing) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr Speaker, I rise on a point of order on relevance. With due respect, the question was: how much will private health insurance premiums rise by as a result of the government forcing these people off—

Harry Jenkins (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The member for Dickson will resume his seat. The minister is responding to the question.

Nicola Roxon (Gellibrand, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Health and Ageing) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Of course, the other issue in the member’s question which it is impossible for me to ignore is this concept that we are forcing the community to do anything. In fact, what we have delivered is some real choice to those people who are doing it tough to make a decision about how they might use an increasingly tight budget—something that those opposite never did when they were in government, leaving the threshold exactly where it was. So I am not going to take a lecture from the member opposite about choice—something they pretend they are about—when this measure is something that has returned choice to those working families and singles who are doing it tough. We are proud of this measure. We will look closely at any requests that come in at the end of the year and we will not look favourably on any that use this as an excuse for an increase in premiums.