I would hate to see the Australian health care system descend into the expensive morass of the American system that services very few, few poorly.

I support the call for an overarching committee deciding health policy for all Australians populated by all the stakeholders not just the health insurance and pharmaceutical lobbies.

When you are in a serious accident or have a chronic illness it is comforting to know that the health care provided isn't rationed by your ability to pay.

Well, I was struck by the statistics given on tonight's TV news, with the NSW Government saying hospitals were performing better (read brilliantly in spite of the apparent inability of the same government to provide health services and hospitals without selling off the power infrastructure - that's a new one (?).
One of the figures quoted was a delay of only 10 minutes in cases of 'life-threatening illness or injury'. Hello?? As an ex-Army medic, I know, from experience, that ten minutes is a lifetime (literally).
Could we also address the issues of the general competence and ability to think on their feet and outside guidelines of many health professionals, whether recently-graduated or otherwise? My (and my wife's) recent experiences are not encouraging.