Coalition delivers on its promise for cheaper health benefits for seniors
3rd September, 2014
The Australian Government has delivered on a key election commitment to give thousands more self-funded retirees access to cheaper medicine and health benefits, Federal Member for Wide Bay and Deputy Prime Minister Warren Truss said today.“The Coalition Government has extended the eligibility for the Commonwealth Seniors Health Card (CSHC) to more than 27,000 people over the next four years, in addition to the current 290,000 cardholders, including 2,188 recipients living in Wide Bay,” Mr Truss said.
“Legislation to index income thresholds for the CSHC, has now passed the Parliament, despite numerous attempts by Labor and the Greens to block these changes.
“Until now, income thresholds for the CSHC have been set at $50,000 for singles and $80,000 for couples combined, and these have remained unchanged since 2001. This caused income thresholds to fall behind increases in the cost of living, making it harder for people to qualify for the card,” Mr Truss said.
“Slowly, people lost their eligibility for the card over the last decade. Indexing the income thresholds will help more seniors to retain the CHSC and qualify for the CHSC for the first time.
“Seniors and their representative organisations have been calling for this change to be made for years. The Coalition has listened and delivered - unlike the Labor Party and the Greens.
“This fulfills an important election promise, which demonstrates the Coalition Government’s ongoing commitment to providing better and more sustainable services for Australian seniors,” Mr Truss said
Annual indexation of the income thresholds in line with the Consumer Price Index will begin from 20 September 2014.
For more information visit the website www.humanservices.gov.au.
