There is little doubt that by introducing means testing for the private health insurance rebate, it will result in a small step toward social inclusion in the health care debate. However, this small step is not enough.

Quoting CPD’s John Menadue and Ian McAuley from their recent discussion paper Private health insurance: High in cost and low in equity, Michael Mullins, editor of Eureka Street, states that the proposed legislation will not do much to change inequities in the health system as a whole.

“The question of private versus public health insurance is related to the division of the hospital system between public and private hospitals. It has promoted inequity by subsidising, and encouraging queue-jumping by, those who can pay. The poor have only the increasingly dysfunctional public hospitals, while the wealthy can pick and choose.”

Read the full article in Eureka Street here.

Want some more information on the health care debate? Read John Menadue and Ian McAuley’s discussion paper Private health insurance: High in cost and low in equity

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