when Rudd puts on his seemingly valium induced voice, laced with patronizing false sincerity and adds in motherhood statements I know Australia is in for more trouble again. This is NOT about health. It is about clawing back GST using a motherhood issue, health. Yet federal govt controls Aged care and does so VERY badly. Aged care is in crisis hidden behind a wall of autocratic paperwork but poor care for the end user. So have no faith in feds doing better with health. This proposed change is about clawing back revenue. States will be rid of expensive albatross and blame game will start in earnest. Meanwhile health will get worse for Australia's if this change happens

The key to any hospital system is the the staff , it takes between 6 to 12 years to train a doctor . When Mr Abbott was health minister why did he cut back on the student doctor numbers in the universities ? and why is it that Australian Specialist Societies trained an under supply of specialist so to keep their incomes high and the supply low ?
I know some patients who are waiting almost 12 months just to get an appointment with a specialist .
Mr Costello had a huge budget surplus when in power yet he never spent the money on improving vital services of Australia and now it has caught up with us .
It is impossible to improve the hospital service unless you have more doctors nurses and allied health staff .
Why would a general practitioner want to work in the hospital system
when he can earn $60 every 3 to 6 minutes [ over $600 an hour ] just writing out prescriptions for patients in a busy medical practice .
Also governments and people should put more effect into preventive health measures , for example the right diet and exercise .
Many hospital admissions are caused by alcohol , smoking , poor diets and lack of exercise .

no, the majority of admissions are seriously focused on the elderly. And this will only get worse from now on. They are often people who are not fat and have not abused their bodies. Their bodies are just wearing out and breaking down with a plethora of aged related issues. Their only 'failing' is that they have lived so moderately such that they have lived longer than their ancestors may have in the past. But down with the blame game and finger pointing. Health is in crisis. Aged care is in a deeper hole. And rudd does not 'get it'