I opened this thread with excitement: "Oh, here is another who wants to dismantle the health system!"

As my time is short, I will only say that I agree with Spindoc on most accounts, except for the clause on "work for the dole".

I have no wish to hurt the poor - there should be some other way to compensate them and allow them to still receive medical treatment should they want to.

But I also have no wish to continue bowing down to the AMA Mafia, a powerful cartel which even the government (including Abbot's) is afraid of. There should be a level playing field between them and other health practitioners, both conventional and alternative, who do not comply with their structure and philosophy.

That's just what we need here, more people who run away from their debts.

Who the hell vets these people, & lets them in.

A few thousand public servants, [HA], need a good massage with the green end of a pineapple, or their wages & pensions docked to pay for the bludgers they've let in.

Definitely time to dismantle the health system, it is attracting the wrong type of people.

Its quite simple..ban every smoker, drinker and junk food addict from the public health system and it becomes affordable overnight.

The problem isn't the average person who looks after their health its the self inflicted health problems the drunks, smokers and obese create for themselves that are clogging up the system.

But of course Tony Abbott is financed by big tobacco and the alcohol and junk food giants so its easier for him to beat up on the poor and the elderly.

Abbott and his cronies had it completely wrong in this vain attempt to 'save money'.

By suggesting that the Doctors are trying to rip Medicare off by rushing patients through their surgeries in blocks of less than 10 minute consultations, they neglected to realise that there ARE many patients who do only want a quick visit.....for scripts, or test results, or sick certificates etc.

By trying to reduce the rebate to GP's by $20 for these short consultations, the Doctors will just pass this on to their patients. That is even worse than the $7 co-payment.
Patients would be lining up at the Emergency Departments to get their 'free' healthcare there instead.

Blind Freddy could see that....but not Abbott.
Why aren't they increasing the GST, so they spread the load over all the population, and not just the sick and the poor?

Abbott is not running a government, he's running a three ringed circus! I copped the new Heath Minister, Sussan Ley (she is a woman, what happened) trying to put a brave face with lots of spin on the latest Abbott fiasco.

"I have become aware of significant concerns and unintended consequences of changes to Medicare rebates scheduled to begin on Monday," she said, so therefore its now;

" As a result, I'm announcing today that the changes to level A and B Medicare consultation items will not commence on Monday as planned."The Government is taking them off the table."

Policy on the run, it changes daily. All this wouldn't have anything to do with the fact, Abbott's back door ploy of trying to introduce changes through what he calls "regulation", and not consulting the democratically elected people's representatives in parliament has failed yet again. The Senate would have voted down Abbott's stupid changes.

Nice opening post Robert, good to see we still have some good thinking people on the forum and from the other side; "need a good massage with the green end of a pineapple," Hasbeen such violence, and coming from a man of peace such as yourself. Ha ha.

The Abbott Credlin govt; has started the new year with a no brainer, after all of the B?S we were given about a more compassionate and thoughtful governance for 2015.
What will be the next exciting under-thought from this mob.
The last of the Abbott worshipers are still clinging to remnants of filthy mind numbing, so called policy. You have to be staunch or stupid.