2nd Jun 2009, 9:28 PM – Representatives Fairer Private Health Insurance Incentives Bill 2009 - Second Reading - Read a second time

The majority voted in favour of a motion to read the bill for a second time.(Read more about the stages that a bill needs to pass through before becoming law here. ) This means that the majority agree with the main idea of the bill and that the House can now consider it in detail.

Background to the bill

The Fairer Private Health Insurance Incentives Bill 2009 was introduced as part of a package of three bills along with the Fairer Private Health Insurance Incentives (Medicare Levy Surcharge) Bill 2009 and the Fairer Private Health Insurance Incentives (Medicare Levy Surcharge – Fringe Benefits) Bill 2009. Together, the bills create three private health insurance tiers in order to:

• reduce the amount of private health insurance rebate eligible taxpayers with complying private health insurance are entitled to when their income for surcharge purposes is above the relevant Medicare levy surcharge threshold;(Read more about the proposed reduction of the rebate in the bills digest (419 KB) for the Fairer Private Health Insurance Incentives Bill 2009.

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• increase the rate of Medicare levy surcharge for certain taxpayers who do not have complying health insurance and whose income for surcharge purposes is above the relevant Medicare levy surcharge threshold.(Read more about the proposed increase in the rate of Medicare levy surcharge the bills digest (339 KB) for Fairer Private Health Insurance Incentives (Medicare Levy Surcharge) Bill 2009 and the bills digest (346 KB) for the Fairer Private Health Insurance Incentives (Medicare Levy Surcharge - Fringe Benefits) Bill 2009.)