SENATOR THE HON ANNE RUSTON

SHADOW MINISTER FOR HEALTH AND AGED CARE

DEPUTY LEADER OF THE OPPOSITION IN THE SENATE

SENATOR FOR SOUTH AUSTRALIA

MEDIA RELEASE

DRAGGED INTO THE LIGHT: LABOR’S SECRET NUMBERS SHOW 78,000 OLDER AUSTRALIANS TO DROP COVER

Monday 12 October 2026

Documents the Albanese Government kept from the public show its own Department expects 78,000 older Australians to drop their private health insurance under Labor’s rebate cut, almost double the 44,000 figure Health Minister Mark Butler has used publicly.

The Health Department briefing, marked “OFFICIAL: Sensitive”, was only made public after a member of the public obtained it under Freedom of Information.

It shows the 44,000 figure represents only “the initial effect of the policy at a point in time”, and that the Department’s model assumes older Australians’ responses “compound over time”, with the gap widening to around 78,000 by 2029-30.

“Mark Butler has continually defended his ill-conceived policy, claiming only 44,000 older people would drop their cover. Yet documents prepared by his own Department reveal the true figure is 78,000. Either he didn’t read his own briefs, or he’s been deliberately misleading older Australians,” Shadow Minister for Health and Aged Care, Senator Anne Ruston, said.

The same document shows the Department told the Government it was “not aware of reliable and complete data” on how many pensioners hold private health insurance, yet still assumed few full-rate pensioners would hold Gold or Silver cover “based on their financial circumstances”.

Senator Ruston said only after sustained Senate scrutiny did the Albanese Government bother to do its homework, finding that around 1.2 million pensioners will be hit, including around 700,000 full-rate pensioners.

“Labor’s own briefing said very few full-rate pensioners would be hit. Its own Department now admits it’s around 700,000,” Senator Ruston said.

“If pensioners can’t afford to keep their cover, they don’t stop needing care. They put off treatment, get sicker, and end up on public hospital waiting lists that are already far too long.

“Many of these people have paid for private health insurance for 40 or 50 years. They were told it was the right thing to do, and they did it. It’s just plain unfair to pull the rug out from under them in retirement.”

The Department has also refused to give the Senate the assumptions behind its modelling, provided heavily redacted documents in response to Senator Ruston’s requests, and admitted its model cannot identify who holds Gold cover.

The FOI documents confirm the Department “did not consult on the specific proposed changes to the Rebate” before they were announced.

“The Albanese Government is running the country by press release, without doing the work to understand how their decisions impact on real people. In their arrogance, they didn’t consult on this cut, and didn’t bother to find out how many pensioners it would hit. We saw exactly the same thing with the aged care assessment algorithm. Mark Butler needs to admit he’s got this wrong and pull this Bill,” Senator Ruston said.

The documents also undercut Labor’s claim that the cut will cost older Australians “less than a dollar a day”. The same briefing gives the example of a single 70-year-old on Gold cover losing $643 a year in rebate.

“Labor keeps saying this costs older Australians less than a dollar a day. The Department’s own documents show a 70-year-old on Gold cover could lose more than $600 a year, which is a power bill for a pensioner,” Senator Ruston said.

The Coalition opposes the Bill and is calling on the Government to release its full modelling before the Senate votes.

ENDS

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