"A win for older Australians" : Monique Ryan celebrates as Senate rejects PHI rebate cuts for over-65s
Dr Monique Ryan MP
Independent Federal Member for Kooyong, Dr Monique Ryan, has celebrated a win for older Australians as the crossbench, Greens, and Opposition senators combined to boot the government's pensioner cash grab off the political agenda.
Today's motion, introduced by Senators Jacqui Lambie and Anne Ruston, successfully discharged the Health Insurance Amendment (Incentive Payments and Other Measures) Bill 2026 from the Senate Notice Paper. This is only the tenth government bill in the past ten years to have been discharged from the Senate.
Today's outcome was built on the advocacy led by Dr Ryan in the House of Representatives, which called out the government for unfairly targeting pensioners in cutting the private health insurance rebate for over-65s.
Dr Ryan: "Since this bill was introduced to parliament, I’ve argued that it’s unfair and unreasonable to strip support from older Australians who have worked for decades to retain their private health cover in retirement. The PBO analysis I commissioned found that half the $3 billion in savings the government had planned would have been taken from the pockets of the older Australians least able to afford them."
Earlier this week, Dr Ryan urged senators to reject the government's bill or adopt her amendment, introduced to the House of Representatives in September, which would have carved pensioners out of the rebate cut.
Dr Ryan: "The government went out of its way to hide the impacts of these changes. It claimed that 44,000 older Australians might drop their cover because of these changes. The Health Department says it is closer to 80,000. That would shift the cost of their healthcare to public hospitals, and the government has refused to say how much that would cost the states.
"The Parliament needed to block this bill to protect older Australians. I’m relieved the Senate has done just that.
Australians know that the private health system needs to be fixed. Every year we pay more and get less. But the government shouldn't be looking for savings in the pockets of vulnerable older Australians."
Contact details:
Rosie Leon-Thomas
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