LABOR BACKFLIPS ON SENIORS HEALTH CARE CARD
The Member for Berowra, Philip Ruddock MP said today that in what is a clear victory for Australian seniors, Labor abandoned debate of the Social Security and Veterans’ Entitlements Amendment (Commonwealth Seniors Health Card) Bill after weeks of claiming that it was urgent.
The Labor government has finally conceded that they have failed Australian seniors with their proposal to take away the Commonwealth Seniors Health Card, CSHC, and deny its benefits to tens of thousands of Australian seniors including my constituents.
“Yet again the Labor government has been exposed for proposing rushed and ill conceived legislation under the guise of attempting to be seen to be doing something,” Mr Ruddock said.
“The impact upon tens of thousands of Senior Australians benefits and constituents alike would be stark:
• The Prescribed Pharmaceuticals: Under the PBS, CSHC holders pay $5.30 per script. After losing it they will pay $32.90 - a 625% increase in costs.
• The PBS Safety Net: Prescriptions that were free after the Safety Net threshold of $318 was reached would blow out to $5 per script only after $1264.90 was reached.
•The Concession Allowance of $500 to assist with the payment for essential services would have gone!
• The Seniors Bonus Payment of $500 in the 2008-09 year also would have gone! And If constituents lose their CSHC because of eligibility changes they will not participate in any further bonus payments!
• The Telephone Allowance of $34.60 per quarter for a residential service also gone!
“Labor promised seniors during the last election to help them make ends meet.
“Instead they proposed to shamelessly grab over $84 million from some of our more vulnerable Australians through the denial of a health card.
“Local seniors who in the main built our society should not now be forced to pay up again by going without.
“The Opposition made it clear in the debate that the Opposition was more than happy to discuss changes to the CSHC and all other pensioner and senior support programs in a holistic way but we would never stand by and allow Labor to systematically strip benefits from senior Australians,” Philip Ruddock said.