Federal Budget- Health

A new Rural Workforce Strategy will provide $134M over 4 years to attract doctors and other medical practitioners to areas of need. I hope this benefits some of our local areas such as Muswellbrook, Cessnock and other areas of the Hunter Valley that have a Doctors shortage.

Just recently I sat for 5 hours in a hospital waiting room with my wife who had broken her leg, I hope the increase of practitioners helps decrease the waiting times in emergency departments for those in need of help. Do you know of any local areas that could benefit from an increase in doctors?

For anyone with private health insurance this info is for you. The Private Health Insurance initiative, previously in place to encourage participation has been cut back;
- Singles earning up to $75,000 (couples up to $150,000) remains unchanged with a rebate of 20% and a surcharge of 1%
- Singles earning between $75,000 and $90,000 (couples $150,000-$180,000) will receive a reduced rebate of 10%, and the surcharge will be increased to 1.25%
- Singles earning more than $120,000 (couples more than $240,000) will receive no rebate and the surcharge increases to 1.5%

In times of need such as this global recession, private health care should still be encouraged by the federal government. As people look to cut back costs in their home, insurance is something that people may consider suspending until the economy and job market is back on track. My advice is think long and hard before you go down this track.

When it comes to your health it is extremely important you have access to medical procedures as and when you need them, and insurance will help make this possible and more affordable to you if you ever need it. Don’t let the changes to private health insurance discourage you, make

May 27th, 2009 | Leave a Comment »