this is a excellent budget

[*mrgrizz*]

for the first time in years the cash cow.....me......single, no kids hasn't been spanked.

and i will be paying less for your kids......you know the ones that you decided to have not me

[freakiness]

---

@am*3 wrote:

The pension concession and Commonwealth Seniors Health cards offer travel, electricity, phone and council rate discounts in an agreement with the states.

But buried in the budget documents the government reveals it will be "terminating" this agreement after July 1, saving  $1.3 billion over four years.

---

That's what the man was talking about last night but Hockey just kept saying there are no cuts to pensions. The man said state concessions which was completely ignored in the answer.

[freakiness]

---

@crystal**flake wrote:

Freaki I googled and found this, so you are right in a way, but last night I swear I heard him say that children under 16 were exempt.

The doctor will be allowed to pocket $2 of the fee, while $5 goes to the government, raising $3.5bn over four years. For patients with concession cards and children aged under 16 the fee will apply for only the first 10 services in each year.

---

No in a way about it. The fee applies to children regardless of how he tried to wiggle out of admitting it last night.

[boris1gary]

It's amusing to read some attitudes about children, paying for "other peoples kids", these "children" are the tax payers of the future. They will be the ones looking after us either in hospital (for some) or in aged care, cleaning up the rubbish, supplying all the services etc. Gentle financial incentives for people to have these pesky tax taking children is for a reason, we need them, we ALL need them.  

[donnashuggy]

---

@freakiness wrote:

---

@crystal**flake wrote:

Freaki I googled and found this, so you are right in a way, but last night I swear I heard him say that children under 16 were exempt.

The doctor will be allowed to pocket $2 of the fee, while $5 goes to the government, raising $3.5bn over four years. For patients with concession cards and children aged under 16 the fee will apply for only the first 10 services in each year.

---

No in a way about it. The fee applies to children regardless of how he tried to wiggle out of admitting it last night.

---

It will be quite frightening if parents stop vaccinating their children due to cost.

[cherry*135]

 children aged under 16 the fee will apply for only the first 10 services in each year

That has always been quite clear. Every person/child will have to pay up to $70 a year. (10x $7)

Dr's do have the choice to waive the $7 fee for a patient, but if they do the Dr gets $5 less in the medicare rebate. I can't see them wearing that for a lot of patients.

[izabsmiling]

http://www.budget.gov.au/2014-15/content/bp2/html/bp2_expense-10.htm

that's so stupid !

[lane-ends]

---

@boris1gary wrote:

It's amusing to read some attitudes about children, paying for "other peoples kids", these "children" are the tax payers of the future. They will be the ones looking after us either in hospital (for some) or in aged care, cleaning up the rubbish, supplying all the services etc. Gentle financial incentives for people to have these pesky tax taking children is for a reason, we need them, we ALL need them.  

---

Just as todays aged Pensioner paid for the infrastucture that we enjoy today

[cherry*135]

Crystal -- I hope you realise the $7 fee applies to more medical services than a Dr's visit.   The fee also applies to Blood tests $7,  xRay $7, and some other medical services... urine tests, pathology....

For visits to Dr's that don't bulk bill, the medicare rebate is reduced by $5... which the patient will increase the patients gap payment.

The cost of prescriptons is rising also.

Changes to optometrical services as well.

You’ll have to wait three years, not two, between Medicare funded eye check ups and the Medicare rebate for optometrist services will be cut.

Dental services

Funding for public dental services will be slashed by $390 million leaving state run public dental services in the lurch and hundreds of thousands of patients ill miss out on dental care.

[crystal**flake]

Yep I know that.

[crystal**flake]

Its one bit of the budget that didnt feel right to me.

I dont understand why they couldn't have put the medicare levy up a bit.