![\"Paul](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/119281a2607761852c4e3d0bae521b8cb3f98cb4.png\")
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April 22, 2026 \u2014 4:28pm<\/p>\n
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Remove items from your saved list<\/a> to add more.<\/p>\n Save this article for later<\/p>\n Add articles to your saved list and come back to them anytime.<\/p>\n Got it<\/p>\n AAA<\/p>\n The private healthcare rebate for Australians over 65 will be cut back as the Albanese government scraps a Howard-era bonus for seniors in a controversial move aimed at making the tax system fairer for younger Australians.<\/p>\n Health Minister Mark Butler revealed on Wednesday that Labor would reverse a 2004 change that increased the rebate provided to older people by up to 8 per cent more than younger people on a similar income.<\/p>\n The government is also gearing up to reverse a Howard-era capital gains tax<\/a> discount. Both changes will be pitched under the umbrella of restoring intergenerational equity in the budget due in May as Prime Minister Anthony Albanese seeks to win support among younger generations with fewer assets.<\/p>\n Butler argued there was no merit in the increased rebate for seniors, introduced when the cash-rich Coalition was battling in the polls before an election at which Labor was campaigning on health.<\/p>\n \u201cI understand this won\u2019t be a welcome decision for many, but it\u2019s the right thing to do,\u201d Butler said in a speech at the National Press Club. \u201c[The change will] re-establish intergenerational equity in the rebate system and free up funding to provide more dignity and care to older Australians.\u201d<\/p>\n Related Article Butler claimed the government\u2019s modelling showed the change would prompt just 0.4 per cent of people with private health insurance to scrap their memberships.<\/p>\n The savings will help fund $4 billion in extra aged care spending.<\/p>\n Of the extra funding, Butler said $3 billion would deliver 5,000 aged care beds a year, $1 billion would make showering, dressing and continence management free of charge during at-home care, and a further $200 million would go towards dementia care units.<\/p>\n Coalition health spokeswoman Anne Ruston condemned the move, saying Labor\u2019s failures on aged care would be funded by penalising those whose insurance premiums took pressure off the public system.<\/p>\n Butler, a close ally of the prime minister with a mandate to reshape the NDIS and aged care systems, sounded the alarm on the nation\u2019s ability to care for ageing Baby Boomers.<\/p>\n Acknowledging that younger Australians were getting a raw deal in the tax and housing systems, Butler said serious changes were required to ensure people aged with dignity as the nation struggles to build enough aged care homes.<\/p>\n \u201cAt a time where the budget is constrained and where we have to find more funds for aged care, we have to do more heavy lifting in aged care,\u201d Butler said.<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s another profound generational challenge in Australia, which sits at the other end of the age spectrum. Providing dignity to that fast-growing cohort of Australians over 80.\u201d<\/p>\n Related Article \u201cJust as young Australians need us to invest in their opportunity, those older Australians who built the country we\u2019re privileged to enjoy today also need us to invest in their dignity\u201d.<\/p>\n The budget\u2019s expenditure review committee has been knocking back spending requests in many portfolio areas<\/a> because the government is worried that its spending could further fuel inflation. But Butler and Aged Care Minister Sam Rae were able to secure out a few billion more in funding for aged care.<\/p>\n Ruston said that if \u201cAustralians aged over 65 can no longer afford to pay for private health insurance, this will only add to the burden on our public health system.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cBased on the minister\u2019s own estimates, around 60,000 older Australians will be forced to drop their private health cover as a result. That\u2019s 60,000 more people relying on our public hospitals at a time when they are already overrun.\u201d<\/p>\n Rachel David, chief executive of the Private Healthcare Australia lobby group, said Labor\u2019s policy would put more strain on the already-struggling private health system.<\/p>\n \u201cIt will hurt consumers, impact the viability of private hospitals, and limit health funds\u2019 ability to deliver better patient experiences,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n Cut through the noise of federal politics with news, views and expert analysis. Subscribers can sign up to our weekly Inside Politics newsletter<\/a>.<\/p>\n Save<\/p>\n You have reached your maximum number of saved items.<\/p>\n Remove items from your saved list<\/a> to add more.<\/p>\n![\"Minister](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/5186571ad81f419c17deafce5591fc9c7ba73ad4.jpeg\")
Minister for Health and Ageing Mark Butler.Alex Ellinghausen<\/p>\n![\"Health](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/3f4f044563f4bcd78df581c666ca10d91cb3999d.jpeg\")
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<\/a><\/p>\n![\"Paul](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/1767789310_197_119281a2607761852c4e3d0bae521b8cb3f98cb4.png\")
Paul Sakkal<\/a> is Chief Political Correspondent. He previously covered Victorian politics and won a Walkley award and the 2025 Press Gallery Journalist of the Year. Contact him securely on Signal @paulsakkal.14.Connect via X<\/a> or email<\/a>.From our partners<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"April 22, 2026 \u2014 4:28pm Save You have reached your maximum number of saved items. Remove items from…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":623281,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[34],"tags":[64,63,137,500],"class_list":["post-634511","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-healthcare","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-health","tag-healthcare"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/634511","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=634511"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/634511\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/623281"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=634511"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=634511"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=634511"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}