 It was designed to put pressure on other health funds to keep premiums at a reasonable level.In 2006, the Howard Coalition Government announced that Medibank would be sold in a public float if it won the 2007 election, however they were defeated by the Australian Labor Party under Kevin Rudd which had already pledged that Medibank would remain in government ownership.After 2009, although continuing in government ownership, Medibank operated as a government business enterprise, operating as a fully commercialised business paying tax and dividends under the same regulatory regime as do other registered private health funds.