the changes won't come into effect until Jan 1 next year if they come in - they can't disadvantage people who are currently using the safety net - they have to wait until the year is finished and given the medicare year is jan 1 - dec 31, they have to run with that

it's like the changes to the baby bonus that happened - it came into play from start of new calendar year so that women who were already pregnant (apart from those due in the first fortnight of the new year) wouldn't be disadvantaged at all