The Prime Minister, the Hon. Julia Gillard MP, has announced that the Australian Government will increase the Medicare levy by 0.5 per cent from 1 July 2014 to help fund its proposed National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS), now renamed DisabilityCare Australia. This would take the Medicare levy from 1.5 per cent to 2 per cent of taxable income. The Prime Minister says low income earners would continue to receive relief from the Medicare levy through the low income thresholds for singles, families, seniors and pensioners. The current exemptions from the Medicare levy would also remain in place, including for blind pensioners and sickness allowance recipients.