Quite right Michael. What we've seen over the last few weeks re Rudd's new health plan is a classic example of why Federalism is in trouble.

We have waiting lists for public dental surgery over a year long, more than 9 months for some elective surgery, under resourced public hospital - and still a few states whined and held out - the most notable being John Brumby.

Ask SA and their Murray River water issues if dealing with Brumby is easy. Both SA and Vic will head off to court over water allocations soon.

Even after a deal has been struck with all of the states (except WA), I'm not sure we have a workable health plan. It's convoluted and shows no elegance or simplicity.

Can we honestly say to our elderly and those boomers without private insurance that things will be OK? No

People are confused by smoke and mirrors if they think that creating a big mega-bureaucracy in Canberra can provide health services cheaper and better. Health is a personal responsibility and professional health services are a service. There is no such thing as a 'right' to human effort.

The same people who enthuse over a health 'system' that provides free access for then seem surprised or indignant when people go to public outpatient departments for trivial concerns and, the price being zero, the demand can never be satisfied. The result is to take resources away from more urgent uses, and devote them with greater expense and delay, to less urgent uses. The problem cannot be fixed by more political meddling - the problem is caused by political meddling.

The people of the country have to pay for medical services one way or the other. We can't all be so poor that we are unable to pay.

Universal compulsory health insurance is as crazy as requiring all people who buy food to take out compulsory insurance against not having enough food. What do you think would happen to the "food system" then? (People only talk about a good as being a "system" when it's in government control and behaving chaotically. No-one ever talks about "our" pizza system, or "our" shoe system, because they are operated along private lines and there is no disjunction between supply and demand.

Can you imagine what a disaster would ensue if the goverment were responsible for supplying food and meals? Or if it was the responsibility to provide milk? It is nothing but a delusion that the problems caused by central planning can be remedied by a greater degree of central planning.

All government interventions in the market for health goods and services should be abolished. The result would be much greater innovation and variety of services, at lower costs, than at present. The poor should be provided for by direct cash donations, not by government taking over the hospitals

if you are going to put patients first you would not give more power to the most incompetent Government since Gough. Whether it be installing pink bats, building tin sheds for schools or immigration failure they how shown that they are marginally ahead of Zimbabwe.

Peter Hume's suggestion;

"All government interventions in the market for health goods and services should be abolished. The result would be much greater innovation and variety of services, at lower costs, than at present."

Would see the price and cost of health care in this country skyrocket faster than a ballistic missle.

Would the removal of the PBS mean higher costs of medications?

You can bet your bottom dollar that the lid was lifted off the price restraint applied by the governments PBS, medication costs would increase.

I think people only need to look at what the privatisation of power has done to the prices.

We were sold that privatisation would mean cheaper, more efficient services, yet prices are surging ahead. Blackouts in some areas become routine, the private companies use market forces, and cut back on maintenance of the network and since routine maintenance was neglected, the public are now expected pay for the upgrading of the supply network.

Peter Hume is right. While we are providing 'free' public hospitalisation and emergency care, we will continue to have a health system in crisis.
Why are people willing to pay up front for their vet fees, but not for their own health fees?

Instead of taking money from those of us who work,via the medicare levy, public patients should be means tested and sent a subsidised bill for using the public hospital's facilities.

All Australians should have this basic hospital and emergency care subsidised, and then if you want more services such as non-elective surgery or cosmetic surgery, then you also take out private health.

Maybe then we wouldn't have the ridiculous situation in our accident and emergency departments where one can just pop in for a sore throat or some basic earache, and get free treatment at any time of the day or night!

In December, I had the misfortune of being admitted to our local casualty department after a surgical wound abscess developed.

While being treated and admitted to the hospital ward, I witnessed two men arrive at different times to the department at 8pm.

One had a 'mild headache' but didn't have any panadol at home and came in to request some free pills. The other one came in with an earache he had had for 3 days, but stated he couldn't take time off work during the day to go to the GP!
The Doctor told him his ear was full of wax, and he should see his GP the next day!

What a waste of time and resources!
They may well have had second thoughts if they had to pay at the hospital.

To give the Qld Minister for Health advise you'd need to engage a Proctologist.