Labor has introduced legislation to Congress to raise the threshold for federal health cards for the elderly.
The bill would raise the threshold for singles from the current $57,761 to $90,000 and for couples from the current $92,412 to a maximum of $144,000. The move was announced ahead of the election.
If passed, the bill will apply from 20 September 2022.
Social Welfare Minister Amanda Richworth said the bill would ensure more Australians qualify for the Commonwealth Senior Health Card and reduce the cost of living pressures many older Australians currently face. said that some of the
The Commonwealth Seniors Health Card is for Australian residents or special persons who are of old age or veteran pension age and are not receiving social security pensions, benefits, veteran service pensions or income support subsidies for their income. It is available to holders of all categories of visas. and/or assets.
The Department of Labor estimates that the change will allow more than 50,000 self-funded retirees to become eligible for the card.
“This is a very significant move and will impact the lives of many retirees who are living on their own to cope with medical costs,” Richworth said.
The measure also gives more self-financed retirees access to federal concessions on medical and drug benefits, including reduced copayments for PBS.
If passed, the PBS Safety Net and Enhanced Medicare Safety Net thresholds will be lowered.
“For example, instead of facing a $42.50 PBS co-payment, eligible self-funded retirees would pay up to $6.80 for all PBS-listed drugs,” Rishworth said. said Mr.
“The Albanian government takes seriously the cost of living pressures facing our community and has taken these measures to support the Australian community, especially older Australians living with cost of living pressures. We will continue to work on concrete examples in a practical way,” she said.
Miranda Brownlee
Miranda Brownlee is Deputy Editor-in-Chief of SMSF Adviser, the leading source of news, strategy, and educational content for professionals working in the SMSF sector.
Since joining the team in 2014, Miranda has been responsible for breaking some of Australia’s largest superannuation stories, reporting extensively on technology strategy and legislative updates.
Miranda has written for titles such as Investor Daily, ifa and Accountants Daily and has extensive business and financial services reporting experience.
