The Private Health Insurance Legislation Amendment (Base Premium) Bill 2013 was introduced into the House of Reps on Wed 15.5.2013 [the morning after the Federal Budget]. The Bill proposes to implement the Government’s 2012-13 MYEFO announcement that from 1 April 2014, the premium to which the Private Health Insurance Rebate is applied will move in line with CPI or the commercial premium increase, whichever is lower.

The Bill proposes to amend the Private Health Insurance Act 2007 (the PHI Act) so that from 1 April 2014 the Rebate for each private health insurance policy will be set as a proportion of the premium charged for that policy as at 1 April 2013. The premium charged for a policy as at 1 April 2013 will be set as the base premium for that policy. From 1 April 2014, increases to the Rebate in future years will be indexed by the lesser of the CPI or the percentage change for the premium charged by a private health insurer.

The Rebate will continue to be calculated using the existing income testing tiers in the PHI Act which came into effect on 1 July 2012. For example, individuals and families in the Tier 3 income tier are not entitled to the Rebate and will therefore not be impacted by these changes.

[LTN 92, 15/5/13]

Bill referred to the Senate Community Affairs Legislation Committee

The Private Health Insurance Legislation Amendment (Base Premium) Bill 2013 has been referred to the Senate Community Affairs Legislation Committee for inquiry and report by 17 June 2013. The Bill proposes to implement the Government’s 2012-13 MYEFO announcement that from 1 April 2014, the premium to which the Private Health Insurance Rebate is applied will move in line with CPI or the commercial premium increase, whichever is lower.

[LTN 93, 16/5/]