corporate_whitey wrote on Feb 14
th, 2012 at 6:35pm:
Everyone knows I have no political barrow to push, I think the entire political class is reprehensible including JuLiar - but these reforms are critical and necessary because the tax payers and the people who cannot afford Private health cover have been subsidizing the private health insurance of the rich and that has got to stop. Kudos for a correct decision, do not expect anything more from me unless it is decent policy.
How is this going to improve the health system?
I,am a retiree on less than $50,000 a year for my wife and myself combined and I pay into a private health fund.
Why, because I consider that the waiting list for many treatments is too long, luckily being reasonably healthy I have not taken much use of it, or have I wasted my money?
Here is an example.
Had a problem with a tooth, which needed a crown, with the associated root canal treatment, a private dentist quoted me $1,000.00, so I applied for a consultation with the government dental system and was lucky to get an appointment within a month, because it was painfull.
I attended a government dental clinic, which removed the filling from the troubled tooth and after draining it, put in a temporary filling; cost for a part-pensioner $15.00.
The waiting list for a crown was 2-3 years.after two weeks the temporary filling dropped out and I was back at the dental clinic to have another temporary filling put in, and this was repeated another 3 times.
Total cost to me 5 times 15=$75 and I still had the same problem.
Went to another private dentist, who suggested to remove half the problem tooth and fill it from the side; cost $450.00 half of it I had to pay myself.
Now the government dental service is in a mess.
Wouldn't it have been better to charge me some $ and $200 do the job properly in the first place.
What the government should do with the health system is, introduce three categories of medicare cards; a green card for the lowest income earners, yellow for medium earners and a red card for the high income earners.
The green card holder pays 10% of any medical or dental treatment,the yellow card holder 20% and the high income earner pays 30-40% of any treatment.
The bulk billing by doctors is just another rort, because some people go to a doctor often for a social visit.
I,am no capitalist, but anything free will always be abused and I see it all the time, like people bragging, that they always get more out of the private health insurance than they pay into.
No insurance can work with this sort of attitude.