The National Forum   Donate   Your Account   On Line Opinion   Forum   Blogs   Polling   About   
The Forum - On Line Opinion's article discussion area



Syndicate
RSS/XML


RSS 2.0

Main Articles General

Sign In      Register

The Forum > Article Comments > Health and security > Comments

Health and security : Comments

By Peter Curson, published 15/2/2016

Many would perhaps argue that our health is our own responsibility and would aggressively oppose the Government intervening in many aspects of our lives.

  1. Pages:
  2. 1
  3. 2
  4. All
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?
Posted by Outrider, Monday, 15 February 2016 9:19:43 AM
Find out more about this user Recommend this comment for deletion Return to top of page Return to Forum Main Page Copy comment URL to clipboard
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
Posted by Mayan, Monday, 15 February 2016 9:45:04 AM
Find out more about this user Recommend this comment for deletion Return to top of page Return to Forum Main Page Copy comment URL to clipboard
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.
Posted by Suseonline, Monday, 15 February 2016 10:00:55 AM
Find out more about this user Recommend this comment for deletion Return to top of page Return to Forum Main Page Copy comment URL to clipboard
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?
Posted by Cobber the hound, Monday, 15 February 2016 12:44:39 PM
Find out more about this user Recommend this comment for deletion Return to top of page Return to Forum Main Page Copy comment URL to clipboard
"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?)
Posted by Yuyutsu, Monday, 15 February 2016 3:02:32 PM
Find out more about this user Recommend this comment for deletion Return to top of page Return to Forum Main Page Copy comment URL to clipboard
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.
Posted by Rhrosty, Monday, 15 February 2016 6:43:04 PM
Find out more about this user Recommend this comment for deletion Return to top of page Return to Forum Main Page Copy comment URL to clipboard
The so-called preventive health lobby has gotten way out of control. These do-good professionals are not paid to accept that people get sick and die of all kinds of diseases that are far and away beyond their individual means of prevention. No matter how healthy the individual lifestyle, people get old, teeth decay, joints fail, organs break down, women have babies, influenza strikes, winter brings the common cold, simple cuts turn sceptic, accidents cause burns and broken limbs and much worse.

A society that refuses to recognise the universal responsibility to assist people financially when they get old, sick or injured is a morally bankrupt one.

Obviously, this article is a response to Malcolm Turnbull's leaked plans to flush Australians down the horrendous American privatised healthcare toilet. And it appears to be arguing the American attitude that every individual's health is the sum total of their own choices. Getting old, sick or injured simply makes you a medical consumer. Hello, medical neo-liberal corporatism.

Bah! Humbug! Keep these crappy Americans values away from Australia's shores. Is there a Pacific detention centre where we can put them?
Posted by Killarney, Tuesday, 16 February 2016 4:54:37 AM
Find out more about this user Recommend this comment for deletion Return to top of page Return to Forum Main Page Copy comment URL to clipboard
I agree, Killarney, but with the caveat that we should either re-label the department the Ministry of Sickness, or do much more to encourage healthy living. What is certain is that governments are put there to provide essential services that all citizens can afford. Privatisation has been proven to always reduce services and raise the cost of them because the motive is profit, not service. They may be more efficient, but that is not always a good thing. If a private company can make a profit out of Medicare, then why isn't the government doing that? Imagine the benefit to the public purse if the government/citizens still owned the Commonwealth Bank! Instead of the paltry millions received in the sale, there'd be multi billion profits shoring up our balance of payments every year.
Posted by ybgirp, Tuesday, 16 February 2016 8:21:27 AM
Find out more about this user Visit this user's webpage Recommend this comment for deletion Return to top of page Return to Forum Main Page Copy comment URL to clipboard
ybgirp

Yes, and you notice they only ever privatise the profitable government enterprises. And leave the taxpayer to keep financing the unprofitable ones.
Posted by Killarney, Tuesday, 16 February 2016 7:23:04 PM
Find out more about this user Recommend this comment for deletion Return to top of page Return to Forum Main Page Copy comment URL to clipboard
It is important to ensure a minimum level health of all citizens. To this end I would assume that basic medical and dental care, and emergency services should be free of charge.

However, some services consume large amounts of money for very little benefit to the patient or society such as IVF treatment or exotic chemo/ surgery that at vast expense might extend a patient's life by a few months.

Similarly some requirements seem nonsensical. Why:
does a woman need to see a doctor every 3 months to renew a contraceptive prescription that has not changed in years:
Why does a doctor need to administer vaccinations, not a nurse.
Why are there unlimited free visits to a doctor when nurses can screen out most of the day to day niggles.

The rise in health care costs is out of control and the reasons are blindingly clear, just that no one has the balls to tackle them.
Posted by Shadow Minister, Wednesday, 17 February 2016 6:05:03 AM
Find out more about this user Recommend this comment for deletion Return to top of page Return to Forum Main Page Copy comment URL to clipboard
In third world countries like Indonesia, The Phillipines, when people get sick and need hospital treatment the families often have to sell their house, business in order to pay for the medical treatment.

The cost of health care in the USA is the leading caused of personal bankruptcy.
Posted by Wolly B, Thursday, 18 February 2016 12:22:26 PM
Find out more about this user Recommend this comment for deletion Return to top of page Return to Forum Main Page Copy comment URL to clipboard
  1. Pages:
  2. 1
  3. 2
  4. All

About Us :: Search :: Discuss :: Feedback :: Legals :: Privacy