We are moving to an oversupply of dentists in Australia. This should lead to some competition on price, currently dental treatment charges are absurdly high. Dentists are higher earners than medical doctors. An oversupply of medicos has led to GP bulk billing being standard across Melbourne at least, and probably other capitals as well.

Cigarette smokers already pay much more tax than the costs of treating their lung cancers. Diabetes 2 is also a lifestyle choice, as all problems associated with obesity. Should treatment for obesity problems be at their own expense?

Someone else said it best:

"Of all tyrannies, a tyranny sincerely exercised for the good of its victims may be the most oppressive. It would be better to live under robber barons than under omnipotent moral busybodies.

"The robber baron’s cruelty may sometimes sleep, his cupidity may at some point be satiated; but those who torment us for our own good will torment us without end for they do so with the approval of their own conscience."

–– C.S. Lewis

If we were to ask obese people and diabetics to pay for all their own health care, where would we draw the line?
To be fair, we would need to also ask for full payment from those who drink alcohol, play any sport, sun bake, work in any dangerous occupation, refuse vaccinations or other preventative medicines, eat any foods that could possibly cause medical problems, those who don't exercise......and the list goes on.

Would there be many fighting fit, healthy specimens left for the government to pay Medicare payments for? Wouldn't they love that? It sounds to me like a form of culling of the poor, weak and sick in our society, because surely that would be the end product of such a system?

Apart from most being simply unable to afford those medical bills (without Medicare subsidies the expenses are huge) we would then have the huge expense of people who just stopped going to the doctor and ended up costing the health budget way more than before. Or do we just say 'tough' and let them die?

This is the reason we had Medicare in the first place.

Outrider, if you go down that route where does it stop?

Playing sport is a choice,so is rock climbing, rock fishing, swimming in the sea, bush walking, around the world yachting? We spend millions every year patching people up, find lost people.

Hell even driving a car driver is a private choice, should we only provide cover if people are in public transport?

"People are the critical human capital which the Government has a responsibility to preserve, protect and bolster, for a healthy, robust nation free from the threat of disease and ill health is the basis of a successful, innovative and caring nation."

In a word - LIVESTOCK.

(Moooooo.... how does it feel?)

I sort of agree with you Peter and would like to see all public hospitals means test their admission lists! And given the end of free medicine for folks who can afford to pay, scrap the health insurance subsidies!

If this forces folk to shop around for member only schemes that simply exclude investors with unearned profit demands, well and good. And exactly what we need to bring the cost of medicine down.

For far too long, the sick and injured, who usually have no say in these matters have been treated like consumers, exercising choice.
Rhrosty.