Medicare bill may still have a chance
Posted
Talks continue ... the Government still hopes to get its Medicare bill through the Senate (AFP: Rob Elliot)
The Government may still have a chance to get its Medicare Levy Surcharge bill through the Senate as talks continue between Independent Senator Nick Xenophon, the Government and the crossbenches.
Yesterday Senator Xenophon said he would vote against the bill as it now stands.
The Government wants to lift the rate of those paying the surcharge from $50,000 to $75,000 for singles but Senator Xenophon said the changes should be in line with the CPI.
This would raise the singles rate to around $69,000.
The bill is due to be further debated today, with a vote possible and Senator Xenophon says talks on a compromise are continuing.
"I'm hoping that discussions today will be fruitful and we can sort something out," he told Radio National.
"Nothing can happen unless the Greens support his as well and Steve Fielding from Family First.
"So it's a question of the three groups on the crossbench being OK with any particular changes, so that's what we're all working on in good faith to see if there's a way forward."
It is the second time the Government has attempted to pass laws to raise the surcharge threshold, with an earlier bill being defeated when Family First Senator Steve Fielding voted with the Opposition against it.
Senator Xenophon is concerned that if the threshold is set at $75,000 too many people will drop out of the private health system, putting further pressure on the public system.
