President Reagan speaks about Socialized medicine.

[Heracles 417]

doesn't the military own your azz when you enlist?

Your right! it's on par with communism where you couldn't leave either. Put up or; well that's your own option really.

[Danno 1,228]

What kind of country have we turned into where so many people think they deserve medical care and don't want to pay for it?

Frankly, if you can't pay for the craniotomy you shouldn't get it. It's called being responsible!

Or "living" within your means.

[Heracles 417]

Luckily we have the internet to prove things. Here is a link to wiki

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Health_care_in_Australia

Dude. What's your point?

Did you think I made those figures up or something?

Read up bud, maybe you can learn something from it.

Edited August 14, 2009 by haza

[natty bumppo 297]

doesn't the military own your azz when you enlist?

Your right! it's on par with communism where you couldn't leave either. Put up or; well that's your own option really.

the military in the US is voluntary ... it also requires more from a person than simply signing up to receive free health care.

[Heracles 417]

the military in the US is voluntary ... it also requires more from a person than simply signing up to receive free health care.

You're missing my point. If the government works for the military, why can it not work (be used) to run any other sector? And we know repubs eat and sleep military.

Therefore, if the government's buying power is good in one sector, such as the military, why not apply this same strategy elsewhere? to something as crucial as health care. We already use it in education.

Edited August 14, 2009 by haza

[luckytxn 2,265]

Luckily we have the internet to prove things. Here is a link to wiki

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Health_care_in_Australia

Dude. What's your point?

Did you think I made those figures up or something?

Read up bud, maybe you can learn something from it.

I did read up and it shows you are bunk. The employee is taxed at 1.5% but most of the revenue is from the general fund which means there are other taxes and costs that showed it is being paid by everyone. Also reading further now that shopws huge wait times for surgery and specialists. Also read this on another site:

Q:

What are the current concerns among healthcare workers in the country?

A:

One of the worldwide fallouts of September 11 has been escalating costs of insurance and re-insurance arrangements, and this has placed pressure on the medical malpractice insurance in Australia. The major medical malpractice insurer in New South Wales (pop. 6.5 million) and Queensland (pop. 3.6 million) has recently collapsed, leaving doctors without coverage in their private work (state governments provide coverage for public hospital care).

Longer-term issues include concerns about the potential shortage of nurses in most states and the adequacy of equipment and capital funding, and general questioning about the level of financing of the system.

And this:

ere are also extensive waiting times for elective surgeries at public hospitals. Although waiting lists for the most urgent elective surgery for heart disease and cancer are almost nonexistent, there are long waiting lists for orthopedic surgery (median wait for total hip replacement is 88 days; 10% of patients waited over 345 days in 1999 to 2000), and cataract surgery (median is 73 days; 10% waited more than 316 days). One of the attractions of health insurance is the ability to bypass public hospital waiting lists.

Hardly can be called quality care.

[luckytxn 2,265]

Got this from an Aussie paper:

Australia's universal health care scheme is relatively new (introduced in 1983, which built on the 1974 Medibank program). As with all socialized health care systems, there is a mixture of public versus private care (approximately 30% of Australians also retain private health insurance). As a result, the private patients receive better care than their medicare counterparts.

The salary caps and artificial increase in demand for care that always occur in a national health care system are resulting in predictable physician shortages.

Mental patients face bed shortage

- Clara Pirani, July 4, 2005 [News.com.au]

Public patients wait longer for surgery

- June 29, 2005 [The Sydney Morning Herald]

Painful wait for care

- Luke McIlveen, February 17, 2005 [Herald Sun (Australia)]

Hospitals crippled by poor planning

- Ruth Pollard, December 1, 2004 [sydney Morning Herald]

Operating theatres shut to save cash as thousands wait for surgery

- Nick O'Malley, November 23, 2004 [sydney Morning Herald]

Private funds creating 'two-tier' health system

- David Uren, November 3, 2004 [The Australian]

[luckytxn 2,265]

Or this:

The Nightmare Health Budget, Australia

Main Category: Public Health

Article Date: 13 May 2009 - 4:00 PDT

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Find other articles on: "australia health care nightmare"

Leaked budget measures reported in the media today will hit families hard.

"It seems the nightmare is coming true. The government is attempting to claw back its debt by savaging Australians support for health," AMA President, Dr Rosanna Capolingua, said.

"The measures will dramatically increase the cost of private health insurance for Australian families.

"And those families that do not keep their private health insurance will pay more to join the queue in the public system.

"This is another lose-lose for Australians on health. Individuals earning more than $74,000 and families earning more than $150,000 a year will pay more either way. That's a lot of Australians.

"Yesterday's budget speculation was that IVF will cost you more, having babies will cost more. Today it's private health insurance.

"It looks like many Australians will be hit at least twice by health cuts in this budget.

"Pre-election commitments to the private health insurance rebate and the Medicare safety net are now both set to be broken. What will be next?

"It's seems clear that this Government plans to pay for its previous handouts by raking it back out of health.

"And this couldn't happen at a worse time for families. This is another big hit on family budgets. Australians now have another anxiety and loss of security when we are all deeply concerned about jobs, income security and the consequences of the global crisis.

"This is not the time for governments to be hitting health."

Source

Australian Medical Association

[Ban Hammer 14,569]

the military in the US is voluntary ... it also requires more from a person than simply signing up to receive free health care.

You're missing my point. If the government works for the military, why can it not work (be used) to run any other sector? And we know repubs eat and sleep military.

Therefore, if the government's buying power is good in one sector, such as the military, why not apply this same strategy elsewhere? to something as crucial as health care. We already use it in education.

so how many years do you have under the military health care system again?

[Heracles 417]

I did read up and it shows you are bunk. The employee is taxed at 1.5% but most of the revenue is from the general fund which means there are other taxes and costs that showed it is being paid by everyone. Also reading further now that shopws huge wait times for surgery and specialists. Also read this on another site:

Still less than what it costs here.

Q: What are the current concerns among healthcare workers in the country?

A: One of the worldwide fallouts of September 11 has been escalating costs of insurance and re-insurance arrangements, and this has placed pressure on the medical malpractice insurance in Australia. The major medical malpractice insurer in New South Wales (pop. 6.5 million) and Queensland (pop. 3.6 million) has recently collapsed, leaving doctors without coverage in their private work (state governments provide coverage for public hospital care). Longer-term issues include concerns about the potential shortage of nurses in most states and the adequacy of equipment and capital funding, and general questioning about the level of financing of the system.

Higher costs 'issues' being the key. Still cheaper to run the the US's system.

PS Insurer HIH collapsed in an Enron style scandal. hence, the directors jail time.

ere are also extensive waiting times for elective surgeries at public hospitals. Although waiting lists for the most urgent elective surgery for heart disease and cancer are almost nonexistent, there are long waiting lists for orthopedic surgery (median wait for total hip replacement is 88 days; 10% of patients waited over 345 days in 1999 to 2000), and cataract surgery (median is 73 days; 10% waited more than 316 days). One of the attractions of health insurance is the ability to bypass public hospital waiting lists.

Non elective surgery. You know what that means right? But anyway, what is the cost to the patient for such non-elective procedure there? zero

PS A lot of people who work have their own private health insurance coverage, therefore, waiting periods are not a problem. What you posted is about general admission. How about zero wait and zero coverage for those uninsured here.

Edited August 14, 2009 by haza

[luckytxn 2,265]

Australia paramedic hired as doctor in 'failing health system'

ABC Regional News

The ambulance union is outraged that a paramedic had to be hired to work at the Kyneton hospital at the weekend because there were not enough doctors.

The Ambulance Employees Association has been negotiating better wages and conditions for 12 months but its general secretary, Steve McGhie, says the Government refuses to treat them as professionals.

"Here they are using intensive care paramedics in propping up a failing health care system," he said.

The hospital's Jennifer Gaile says using paramedics is not unusual.

"Providing a workforce solution in a rural area where there are often not many skilled professionals," she said.

A Government spokeswoman says paramedics are not being asked to perform duties other than normal practice and a doctor will always be available in an emergency.

[luckytxn 2,265]

Yeah real good quality care:

Mental care failing more patients

Jill Stark

June 7, 2009

VICTORIA'S mental health system continues to buckle under growing demand, with the latest figures showing the Government is failing to meet four out of five of its own treatment targets.

Almost a third of patients with a mental illness are languishing in hospital emergency departments for more than eight hours before being admitted.

Figures from the last quarter of 2008 show Austin Health had the worst track record, with more than half of mental health patients waiting longer than the target time.

A spokesman for Austin Health acknowledged the performance was "not good enough" but said it was partly due to the fact that only a small percentage of mental health patients come to the hospital through emergency, skewing the figures.

On average, across the system only 70 per cent of those seeking help were found a bed within eight hours — well short of the Government's 80 per cent target.

And many people did not get the help they needed to stay well, with high readmission rates revealing a revolving-door effect for those in crisis.

Fifteen per cent of patients were readmitted to hospital within 28 days of being discharged — the target is 14 per cent. In some regional areas, more than one in five people were back in hospital within a month, with Goulburn Valley Health and Barwon Health the worst performers.

And despite the Government spruiking its focus on early intervention, many patients were only treated when they had reached crisis point. Just 59 per cent received community-based care prior to admission.

Hospitals made progress on the number of patients who got follow-up checks within a week of discharge, reaching the 70 per cent target. But many hospitals failed to properly record patient details, with only 77 per cent of cases being assessed correctly, falling short of the 85 per cent target.

Opposition mental health spokeswoman Mary Wooldridge accused the Government of failing some of Victoria's most vulnerable people.

"Victorians with a mental illness confront a system that is complex and overcrowded, leaving many unable to access the care and services they need," she said.

"People are failing to get preventative care in the community, waiting for hours in hospital emergency departments to access a bed and, when discharged, are not getting the support they need and so find themselves back in the emergency department."

Ms Wooldridge claimed that when the Opposition sought the latest figures through Freedom of Information, the Government tried to block the request before caving in on the eve of being taken to the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal.

She said under Labor, Victoria's per-capita spending on mental health services had plummeted from first to sixth compared to other states and territories.

Minister for Mental Health Lisa Neville said the Government's 10-year plan to reform the mental health system would improve admission times and increase early intervention. More than 300 beds would be created and a 24-hour mental health triage system set up at six hospitals, helping to minimise bed blockage. And new services were being funded under the Government's $182.1 million 2009 budget for mental health.

The Victorian president of the Australian Medical Association, Dr Harry Hemley, applauded the Government's plans, but sought targets of 100 per cent: "All people needing mental health care should be treated within a timely fashion, not just seven out of 10," he said.

[Heracles 417]

The Nightmare Health Budget, Australia

Do you even know what that is about? Or did you just do a generic search in google. Which I too can play the same game but I'm not.

That is a statement from a medical association asking for more money be allocated to healthcare and a reversal of a change towards a pro-public policy, since Australia changed parties during their last federal election.

[Usui Takumi 1,562]

Australia paramedic hired as doctor in 'failing health system'

ABC Regional News

The ambulance union is outraged that a paramedic had to be hired to work at the Kyneton hospital at the weekend because there were not enough doctors.

The Ambulance Employees Association has been negotiating better wages and conditions for 12 months but its general secretary, Steve McGhie, says the Government refuses to treat them as professionals.

"Here they are using intensive care paramedics in propping up a failing health care system," he said.

The hospital's Jennifer Gaile says using paramedics is not unusual.

"Providing a workforce solution in a rural area where there are often not many skilled professionals," she said.

A Government spokeswoman says paramedics are not being asked to perform duties other than normal practice and a doctor will always be available in an emergency.

Sounds like good management to me.

[Heracles 417]

Mental care failing more patients

Jill Stark

June 7, 2009

VICTORIA'S mental health system continues to buckle under growing demand, with the latest figures showing the Government is failing to meet four out of five of its own treatment targets.

Another great read discussing the need for more money to be spent on mental health care.

How much money is spent on mental health care here? Before you answer that, what is the ratio of murders or serial killers between the two nations? How many times have you read about people gunning down places and killing 5 or ten people over there? What is the murder or suicide rate? Go run a comparison and then get back to me.

Human Development Index (lower better)

US = 15

Aus = 4

Edited August 14, 2009 by haza