Peter Dutton (Dickson, Liberal Party, Minister for Health) Share this | Hansard source

I thank the members for their contributions, particularly some of the more sensible contributions from the member for Moore, the member for Bowman, the member for Paterson and others on the government side as well. I will very quickly respond to a couple of the points made by the previous speaker, the member for Throsby. I remind the member for Throsby that this denial process, this stage of grief that the Labor Party are going through at the moment, will not result in their return to government anytime soon. They are certainly suffering the same fate in relation to their approach to border protection. They are facing it, as we saw, with the naming of the member for Lilley today in relation to their denial about the state budget and they have certainly denied the state of health care in this country. They defied the independent evidence that was provided to the former Rudd and Gillard governments in relation to the commissioned work by Bennett and McKeon. The important thing out of those two pieces of work is that both of them suggested to the previous government that health was unsustainable.

A division having been called in House of Representatives—

Sitting suspended from 18:15 to 18:35

I thank the members for their contributions to the debate on this bill. The bill amends the Health Insurance Act 1973 to increase the general or upper extended Medicare Safety Net threshold. A lower threshold, which is accessed by concession card holders, will not be affected by this bill. This bill also removes the outdated requirement for the chief executive of Medicare to only be able to request in writing the composition of a family for the purposes of the extended Medicare Safety Net. This bill does not remove the requirement to confirm family composition but allows the chief executive of Medicare to use other methods such as calling patients by telephones. This will mean that patients will be able to receive their benefits in a more timely manner. Patients who would prefer to have this request in writing can continue to do so.

This bill supports the implementation of the 2013-14 budget measure to increase the general extended Medicare Safety Net threshold to $2,000 from 1 January 2015. This bill was referred by the Senate for an inquiry by the Senate Community Affairs Legislation Committee. On 16 June the committee recommended that this bill be passed in its current form.

This bill will deliver a decrease in expenditure for the extended Medicare Safety Net. This is important for supporting the sustainability of the extended Medicare Safety Net so singles and families can continue to receive additional assistance with their out of pocket costs.

The bill also reduces the administrative burden on the Department of Human Services whilst providing consumers with greater choice in how they communicate with the department.

This bill achieves savings by increasing the threshold to qualify for benefits for a significant proportion of the population. However, it does not address the complicated and confusing safety net arrangements which have developed over many years.

As announced in the 2014 budget, this government will amalgamate the three Medicare safety nets from 1 January 2016. For the first time since 2010, the Medicare Safety Net will apply consistently to all MBS services. The new Medicare Safety Net will distribute safety net benefits more and support the long-term sustainability of the Medicare arrangements. I commend the bill to the House.

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