The controversy surrounding the federal government’s plan to scrap extra private health insurance rebates for the over-65s continues. Not everyone agrees on the impact of the higher premiums, whether that’s the number of people set to cancel their cover or the impact on the public health system.
Now NSW Health Minister Ryan Park says his department’s modelling shows scrapping the extra rebates would mean 23,000 more surgeries a year in NSW public hospitals, and that up to 80,000 people might cancel or downgrade their cover in that state alone.
