PBO projects cost of refugee health program will balloon to $1.5 billion annually
The Parliamentary Budget Office now estimates the federal government’s refugee health program will skyrocket to $1.5 billion by 2030.
The Parliamentary Budget Office now estimates the federal government’s refugee health program will skyrocket to $1.5 billion by 2030, following an audit that exposed health benefits being granted even to asylum seekers whose claims were rejected.
The annual cost of the Interim Federal Health Program (IFHP) is projected to increase by 1,775 per cent from $80 million in 2016, according to the Parliamentary Budget Officer (PBO) staff, who revealed the figure during a House of Common’s health committee meeting on Thursday.
The PBO projects the program’s annual cost will reach $1.5 billion by 2030.
