Return of the socialist agenda.

Many people will be surprised at one item in this coming weeks Federal budget. The Treasurer has provided a positive incentive for many to dump private health insurance.

The previous government used the carrot and stick approach to increase the number of people with private health insurance. Individuals earning $ 50,000 and families earning $ 100,000 faced a $ 600 a year tax surcharge unless they insured.
This became a tax saving if they insured with a fund. It also achieved the government's objective of transferring many such patients from the public hospital system to private hospitals, thus helping to reduce the overload.

The Treasurer has raised compliance from the figure that has been maintained for seven years - to $ 100,000 for individuals and $ 150,000 for families.

Executives of insurance funds expect a sharp increase in the drop-off rate as huge numbers no longer attract the tax surcharge. Perhaps the Treasurer hopes that by dumping private health insurance the gain may save those teetering on the edge of mortgage default. It will certainly play a part in family decision making if interest rates continue to rise.

The down side will be a sharp increase in those looking to the public hospital system for their health needs. This system is already struggling to meet demand and it will be interesting to see if this budget contains an injection of funds to increase capacity.

The Labor party has been out of office for a long time - and some will wonder if this is a return to it's socialist roots. In pure Socialist dogma there is no place for private hospitals. All citizens are created equal - and all should receive a common standards of service in all aspects of life. In socialist thinking, the public hospital system should be the only avenue of health care.

This may cause some to snigger when they remember past Labor prime ministers, cabinet ministers and their spouses - all making a bee line for St Vincent's private hospital whenever they faced a personal health crisis. It seemed to be a case of " Do as I say - Not do as I do ! "

Certainly the many suffering mortgage stress may welcome an injection of about $ 1600 by dumping private health insurance and this may be sufficient to put the brakes on foreclosures - but Newtons law applies. " To every action there is an equal and opposite reaction ". Wait for the blow out in hospital admission times !