Medicare Levy Surcharge

The Greens have stated that they will vote against an increase in the Medicare Surcharge Levy.

Senator Richard Di Natale has told reporters that: "We don't support the Medicare Surcharge Levy when it comes to private health insurance".

Yesterday's release of statistics revealing the number of Australians that have private health cover have fuelled a government push for a means test on the health care rebate.

Health minister Nicola Roxon is expected to use the new figures - ten million and rising - as further justification to pass a bill concerning a means test for determining the health care rebate.

The Private Health Insurance Administration Council (PHIAC) has released figures which show that Australians have reached a ten-year high level in private health cover participation.

Minister for Health and Ageing Nicola Roxon says: "45.3 per cent of the population is now covered by private hospital insurance."

The Private Health Insurance Ombudsman (PHIO) has reported a dramatic increase in traffic to its website, signifying a surge of interest in the private health industry.

According to a report released last month (July 2011), the website has in excess of 40,000 hits per day, a number which PHIO says is the highest amount of traffic since its launch in 2007.

This was a dramatic spike compared to the month before, where unique hits were hovering under 30,000 per month.

There's been a lot of talk in the news lately about the Medicare Levy Surcharge (MLS) and quite frankly, it can be a little confusing at times, especially if you're not entirely sure what it means.

So what is it?

The MLS is an extra tax on Australian taxpayers who do not have private hospital cover and earn over $80,000 ($160,000 for couples).