Medicare levy hike to pay for the NDIS :(

[nero_bolt]

THE average worker could be hit with an increased Medicare levy of about $300 a year in next month's budget to help pay for the national disability insurance scheme.

The federal government is seriously considering increasing the Medicare levy from 1.5 to 2 per cent after Prime Minister Julia Gillard warned "urgent and grave" decisions were needed to cope with a $12 billion hit to tax revenue.

The Daily Telegraph understands while the higher Medicare levy would be presented as a reasonable form of "insurance" to protect families from the huge costs of coping with a disability, no final decision has been made whether to include it in the May 14 budget.

Ms Gillard will face attacks that it is another broken promise after she last year ruled out increasing the Medicare levy to pay for DisabilityCare

http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/medicare-levy-hike-to-pay-for-the-national-disability-insurance-scheme/story-e6freuy9-1226631862091

[fiestas*girl]

The one sided opinion of a vested interest in a possibly biased environment? 

he won't be that silly to throw the whole thing out the window... anyone that thinks that being ridiculous.

What a ridiculous thing to say. Our interest is not 'vested' as such, I cant tell you much ore as i do not want to reveal my workplace. My employer is very very highly regarded by both sides of politics, our aim is to remain bi partisan in our approach to lobbying activities and the way in which we spend the funds provided for the organisation to do its work. We have no political affiliation...

NDIS is a small part of our work.....so there is no 'vested interest'

[izabsmiling]

 the welfare mentality we have bread in this country just keep on wanting more and more and more yet wont and dont contribute anything yet they expect others to continue to pay and pay for the never ending hand outs.

Nero , to be like my sister and get all she gets...at the age of 25 try being like her.At present she is recovering from a serious staph infection in a nursing home.She has no bladder,bowel control and can't walk...couldn't walk even before both her legs were cut off above the knee.

Her mother (my step mother died f cancer when she was 16) and her father is chronically ill and not involved in her life.The nursing home care she needs while she recovers probably cost around 200K at a guess/yr.

She does not contribute...hopefully she will one day .Even if she doesn't she is worth something..she is somebody.

I feel as though you would quite happily put her head in that guillotine ...here you are whinging ...what is wrong with you ?

[the_hawk*]

 the welfare mentality we have bread in this country just keep on wanting more and more and more yet wont and dont contribute anything yet they expect others to continue to pay and pay for the never ending hand outs.

Nero , to be like my sister and get all she gets...at the age of 25 try being like her.At present she is recovering from a serious staph infection in a nursing home.She has no bladder,bowel control and can't walk...couldn't walk even before both her legs were cut off above the knee.

Her mother (my step mother died f cancer when she was 16) and her father is chronically ill and not involved in her life.The nursing home care she needs while she recovers probably cost around 200K at a guess/yr.

She does not contribute...hopefully she will one day .Even if she doesn't she is worth something..she is somebody.

I feel as though you would quite happily put her head in that guillotine ...here you are whinging ...what is wrong with you ?

Your sister is getting the care she needs, what more do you think this so called plan will give her.

The only thing I see will change is her care will be run by a private company that makes profit rather than the public health system

[izabsmiling]

Plans like this may have helped her from needing to have her legs amputated.

From getting sores and infections n her sacrum 3 times...each time she had surgery and was sent home...without sufficient care to help her...resulting in another infection and readmission and surgery....now she has a huge fragile area (hole) and the infection has gotten into her hip bone...it is not the best care or the most budget friendly care she could have been given.

[izabsmiling]

and she may still be at uni ...and/or contributing right now had the care been there

[monman12]

NW: "..................but the welfare mentality we have bread in this country................"

Chuckle.

It goes perfectly with the "hunny" that  a lot of the greedy electorate vote for at election time!

.

[cherry*135]

An extra 1/2% medicare levy for a person earning $37,000 would be $185 p.a.

What is the average annual income for Australian workers?

I wouldn't resent paying the extra.

[cherry*135]

 making the poorer pay more" because it is based on a persons earnings and everyone will pay.

What figure p.a. do you think a poor person earns?

No, not everyone will pay, there are

1. Medicare levy exemptions:

Foreign residents

Medical  - for example, blind pensioners

No entitlement to medicare benefits - temporary residents

2. Medicare levy reductions: (dependant on income and category)

[bella_again]

Iza, don't waste your breath some people will never show compassion they will be more concerned with losing a few dollars a week than the care of the most vulnerable in this country. Most don't even grasp that its actually for the severely disabled. Most will never have a concept until of course they are faced with that life altering experience of knowing how disability impacts lives.

Basically they won't care till it happens to them...

[the_great_she_elephant]

Wow. $300 a year - that's about $5.00 a week - about the same price we pay over here in the West for a good cup of coffee. Hmm.... thinks..... yes. I believe I could cheerfully forego one cappuccino a week if it meant a better life for people with disabilities. Who knows, one day I might even get run down by a drunk driver while crossing the road to my favourite coffee shop and be in need of help myself.