 The Senate blocked passage of the medical co-payment, but approved the establishment of the Medical Research Future Fund in August 2015, with funding to be found through reduced health spending and the Health and Hospitals Fund, until a balance of $20bn is reached in 2020.Funding for the ABC and SBS is being cut by 1% leading to costs savings of $43.5 million.This is despite repeated comments by the Abbott Government that funding to the ABC would not be cut, which Abbott later said he regretted.