Canberra Liberals Leader Mark Parton will call on the ACT government today to oppose federal plans to remove the higher private health insurance rebate for people aged 65 and over.

Mr Parton will move a Legislative Assembly motion asking the government to write to federal Health Minister Mark Butler opposing the change and outlining its potential impact on the ACT public hospital system.

Under legislation before federal parliament, people aged 65 and over would receive the same rebate as younger policyholders in the same income tier from April 1 next year. The federal government says the change will affect about 3.2 million people, increasing their premiums by an average of about $250 a year.

Government modelling estimates there will be about 44,000 fewer insured people aged 65 and over by 2028-29 than there otherwise would have been. The change is expected to save the Commonwealth $3 billion over four years which will be redirected to aged care, the government says.

Mr Parton said the ACT’s comparatively high rate of private hospital cover, at 54.2 per cent, meant the Territory was particularly exposed to any shift of patients into the public system.

“This is a cost-shift, pure and simple. Pulling the rebate from older Australians risks pushing more patients into our already stretched public hospitals,” Mr Parton said.

The federal government has argued that the age-based rebate is inequitable and that people in the same income tier should receive the same rebate regardless of age.

Mr Parton’s motion also calls for the government’s letter to Mr Butler to be tabled in the Assembly within 30 days.

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