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Spend rebate more wisely
The 7% private health insurance premium hike means taxpayers give another $150 million to the private health industry. What is the return? Shorter waiting lists at public hospitals? No. Easy and convenient access to private hospital care? Only if you are not too old and complicated and you need a nice expensive operation. More choice? Only if you are one of the 45% who have insurance, and then possibly only if you need a nice expensive operation. There must be better ways to spend $2.35 billion. A 10% boost to the Aged Care budget would cost $300 million, 10% to Public Hospitals would cost $650 million, 10% to Aboriginal Health $80 million, an excellent Dental Health Scheme would cost $750 million. That would still leave $420 million to spend on rural health and preventative and primary health care initiatives. Every year. Instead we spend it on an insurance industry which has administrative costs of 14%, compared to 3% for our national public health insurance (that’s what Medicare is). We spend it to support a very expensive private health sector in which operations cost twice as much to perform as in the efficient public sector. We need a rethink. We can spend this money more wisely, for the benefit of all Australians.
Dr Tim Woodruff |
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Doctors Reform Society of Australia home page]
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