One in 10 take out health insurance to avoid Medicare levy surcharge - study

Nearly one in 10, or 8.5% of Australians, take out health insurance to avoid the Medicare levy surcharge, finder.com.au has found in its March survey.

The Medicare levy is a flat 2% tax levied on Australians who do not have an appropriate level of private hospital insurance and who earn above a certain income, to help fund the health insurance program.

Recently, the government ditched the proposed Medicare levy surcharge hike to 2.5%, saving many Australians an additional $120-$1,500 in annual tax, finder.com.au said.

The comparison website's survey of more than 1,000 Australians also revealed the major triggers for Australians to get their health cover:

• To avoid the Medicare levy surcharge after earning an income of more than $90,000 for a single or $180,000 for a couple;
• To avoid the Lifetime Health Cover loading for those who are under 31 years of age,
• To get insured for those who turned 25 or are graduating university, when they can no longer be covered by their parents’ policy