Well, well I thought I was the only guy sick of paying my taxes to help unhealthy lifestyles. We don't have a HEALTH system, we have a SICK system and the sooner we change the name of the government departments the better. Let Roxon run a new HEALTH system and let the states have the SICK system.
We reward people in this country for unhealthy lifestyles. When they get sick we pay to fix them, but us poor bastards that try to live healthy lifestyles by exercising and eating sensibly and rarely see a doctor - we just pay and pay. With private health insurance and the Medicare levy , health is the second biggest bill in my house. Now don't get me wrong, some people are just unlucky. They have an accident, they inherit bad genes - for these they deserve all the help they can get. BUT for those who smoke, drink too much, eat too much and don't exercise - 2 strikes and you are out. That is we taxpayers don't pay. The solution is simple (not politically safe though).
1. Change the name to SICK department and introduce a HEALTH department.
2.Target 70% spend on prevention by 2020
3. Reward healthy people - penalise unhealthy people.
4. Educate! Educate! Educate!
5. Make everyone in Australia have a health assessment. This does not need to be done by doctors. Keep it simple, BMI, simple blood test, respiratory test.