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Take two aspirins and call for more reform

By Adam Johnston - posted Tuesday, 8 January 2008


Some may still say this proposal strikes at the universal provision offered by Medicare. But is the current system so attractive after all? Its funding levy hits the lowest paid the hardest: while leaving your health care to be provided for entirely by the public sector means that you are allowing a bureaucrat to place you on a public waiting list; to determine when you will be admitted into a facility; if you will have a procedure cancelled; and, if it is not cancelled, to have it conducted by a doctor selected by the state.

It may be that none of these factors will have any impact on the outcome of your procedure. Also, some of us may not be in a financial position to make such choices.

Nothing in what either Kevin Cox or I are proposing should therefore diminish the acknowledged vital role of public health care. However, just as superannuation cannot and will not ever entirely remove the need for some government-funded pensions, public health care is already stretched and is unlikely to be able to cover all Australians’ health needs in the time and manner we demand.

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Individual health savings accounts will give consumers greater ownership, autonomy and choice in how they manage their health and that of their family, while also providing scope for government to more effectively apply scarce public health dollars.

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The views expressed here are his own and do not reflect the opinions of any other individual or organisation. Rather, the article is an amalgam of his ideas, provided to inquiries undertaken by the Fair Pay Commission (PDF 57KB) and the Productivity Commission (PDF 27KB) and are offered in response to Dr Kevin Cox’s article.



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About the Author

Adam Johnston is a solicitor, holding a Master of Laws from the University of New England, Armidale, and a Graduate Diploma from the Australian Institute of Company Directors.He is currently a PhD (Law) Student at Macquarie University researching the NDIS.

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A new way to fund health - On Line Opinion

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