Politics and religion.

[phesina]

Now for some real facts.
Australia has one of the best health systems in the world.

Wom, how does the Australian health system work? I'd really like to know more about that. Thank you.
Pat

[wombat2u2004]

Wom, how does the Australian health system work? I'd really like to know more about that. Thank you.
Pat

Here ya go............

In 1984 a comprehensive health care system, Medicare, was introduced. Medicare facilitates access by all eligible Australian residents to free or low-cost medical, optometric and public hospital care, while leaving them free to choose private health services.

Individuals’ financial contributions to the public health care system are based on their income and are made through a taxation levy known as the Medicare levy.

Australia’s public hospital system is jointly funded by the Australian Government and state and territory governments and is administered by state and territory health departments.

People admitted to public hospitals as public (Medicare) patients receive treatment by doctors and specialists nominated by the hospital. They are not charged for care and treatment or after-care by the treating doctor.

Private patients in public or private hospitals can choose the doctor who treats them. Medicare pays 75 per cent of the Medicare schedule fee for services and procedures provided by the treating doctor. For patients who have private health insurance, some or all of the outstanding balance may be covered. Private patients are charged for hospital accommodation and items such as theatre fees and medicine. These costs may also be covered by private health insurance but are not covered by Medicare.

Medicare Australia is the agency within the Department of Human Services responsible for processing and paying Medicare benefits for approved services. Medicare Australia also pays pharmaceutical benefits under the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme, which subsidises an agreed list of prescription drugs.

For both medical and pharmaceutical services, safety net arrangements exist to make sure patients who need a high level of treatment or medication during a financial year do not incur significant out-of-pocket expenses. Out-of-pocket costs are the difference between the Medicare benefit and what the patient is actually charged.

The Australian Government also provides medical, pharmaceutical and hospital services for veterans, war widows and their eligible dependants under legislation administered by the Department of Veterans’ Affairs.

The Australian Government provides about two-thirds (67 per cent) of public sector expenditure on health, and state, territory and local governments provide the rest.

Note: I have what they call a "Gold Card" Pat. They are issued automatically to war veterans over 70 years of age, and to those like myself who have a war caused disability. The card is given to us regardless of assets. Joe Blow living on the street, or as rich as Rupert Murdoch.....meeting the age and disability criteria automatically gets you issued one. The benefit of the Gold Card ??? Everything is free. Doctors, Specialists, Hospitals, Treatment, Medicines, Dental, Physiotherapy, Optometrical....every single thing related to our health is free.

[Edwina's Secretary]

Apparently "Undefeated" has been defeated at the box office by a documentary about turtles! The weekend gross for Ms. Palin was just over $24,000 - down over 60% from the opening weekend..."Turtle: The Incredible Journey" was over $25,000. Turtle total gross is over 3 times Undefeated.

Defeated!

Could it be her 15 minutes are over?

[Karen]

Could it be her 15 minutes are over?

Not quite - you posted about her!

[blue]

Apparently "Undefeated" has been defeated at the box office by a documentary about turtles! The weekend gross for Ms. Palin was just over $24,000 - down over 60% from the opening weekend..."Turtle: The Incredible Journey" was over $25,000. Turtle total gross is over 3 times Undefeated.

Defeated!

Way to misrepresent the 2 movies, not surprised by you or the Huffington Post for doing so. Turtle: The Incredible Journey was released in 2009, Link.

Could it be her 15 minutes are over?

Karen beat me to it. As long as the Huffington Post and its readers like yourself are rabidly reporting and reading about her, her time in the limelight will continue.

[phesina]

Here ya go............

In 1984 a comprehensive health care system, Medicare, was introduced. Medicare facilitates access by all eligible Australian residents to free or low-cost medical, optometric and public hospital care, while leaving them free to choose private health services.

Individuals’ financial contributions to the public health care system are based on their income and are made through a taxation levy known as the Medicare levy.

Australia’s public hospital system is jointly funded by the Australian Government and state and territory governments and is administered by state and territory health departments.

People admitted to public hospitals as public (Medicare) patients receive treatment by doctors and specialists nominated by the hospital. They are not charged for care and treatment or after-care by the treating doctor.

Private patients in public or private hospitals can choose the doctor who treats them. Medicare pays 75 per cent of the Medicare schedule fee for services and procedures provided by the treating doctor. For patients who have private health insurance, some or all of the outstanding balance may be covered. Private patients are charged for hospital accommodation and items such as theatre fees and medicine. These costs may also be covered by private health insurance but are not covered by Medicare.

Medicare Australia is the agency within the Department of Human Services responsible for processing and paying Medicare benefits for approved services. Medicare Australia also pays pharmaceutical benefits under the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme, which subsidises an agreed list of prescription drugs.

For both medical and pharmaceutical services, safety net arrangements exist to make sure patients who need a high level of treatment or medication during a financial year do not incur significant out-of-pocket expenses. Out-of-pocket costs are the difference between the Medicare benefit and what the patient is actually charged.

The Australian Government also provides medical, pharmaceutical and hospital services for veterans, war widows and their eligible dependants under legislation administered by the Department of Veterans’ Affairs.

The Australian Government provides about two-thirds (67 per cent) of public sector expenditure on health, and state, territory and local governments provide the rest.

Note: I have what they call a "Gold Card" Pat. They are issued automatically to war veterans over 70 years of age, and to those like myself who have a war caused disability. The card is given to us regardless of assets. Joe Blow living on the street, or as rich as Rupert Murdoch.....meeting the age and disability criteria automatically gets you issued one. The benefit of the Gold Card ??? Everything is free. Doctors, Specialists, Hospitals, Treatment, Medicines, Dental, Physiotherapy, Optometrical....every single thing related to our health is free.

Thank you, Wombat. I think this sounds fantastic. Are there down sides of this system for you Australians?

So WHY are conservatives in the U.S. so outraged about the idea of even attempting to introduce such a system here? Would any of you folks of the conservative stripe please enlighten me? Thank you.

[Lady's Human]

Ummm, possibly a little issue along the lines of a $14 trillion debt problem?

We can't pay for all the government services now. Let's fix that before we spend more money we don't have.

[wombat2u2004]

Thank you, Wombat. I think this sounds fantastic. Are there down sides of this system for you Australians?

So WHY are conservatives in the U.S. so outraged about the idea of even attempting to introduce such a system here? Would any of you folks of the conservative stripe please enlighten me? Thank you.

As for down sides, well no system is perfect, so we do get the hiccup now and again, but overall it works very well for everyone, and almost everyone is happy with it. Oh, you always get the people who don't agree with the system, but some people don't agree with anything....right??

As to why this system is so contentious in the US, then I'd have to agree with LH on that. We have a very strong economy here, and the government does keep the system going by injecting funds from revenues into it. So I suppose when your economy gets back on it's feet, then there will be less against and more FOR that kind of system.
I do hope you all get it there eventually...I think good health services should be available to all regardless of their situation money wise.

[wombat2u2004]

The Balloonist

A man in a hot air balloon realized he was lost. He reduced altitude and spotted a man below.
He descended a bit more and shouted, "Excuse me, can you help me? I promised a friend I would meet him half an hour ago, but I don't know where I am."

The man below replied, "You are in a hot air balloon hovering approximately 30 feet above the ground. You are between 42 and 44 degrees north latitude and between 83 and 85 degrees west longitude."

"You must be a Republican," said the balloonist.
"I am," replied the man, "but how did you know?"

"Well," answered the balloonist, "everything you told me is technically correct, but I have no idea what to make of your information, and the fact is I am still lost."

The man below responded, "You must be a Democrat."
"I am," replied the balloonist, "how did you know?"

"Well," said the man, "you don't know where you are or where you are
going. You made a promise which you have no idea how to keep, and you expect me to solve your problem. The fact is you are exactly in the same position you were in before we met, but now, somehow, it's my fault."

[phesina]

The Balloonist

A man in a hot air balloon realized he was lost. He reduced altitude and spotted a man below.
He descended a bit more and shouted, "Excuse me, can you help me? I promised a friend I would meet him half an hour ago, but I don't know where I am."

The man below replied, "You are in a hot air balloon hovering approximately 30 feet above the ground. You are between 42 and 44 degrees north latitude and between 83 and 85 degrees west longitude."

"You must be a Republican," said the balloonist.
"I am," replied the man, "but how did you know?"

"Well," answered the balloonist, "everything you told me is technically correct, but I have no idea what to make of your information, and the fact is I am still lost."

The man below responded, "You must be a Democrat."
"I am," replied the balloonist, "how did you know?"

"Well," said the man, "you don't know where you are or where you are
going. You made a promise which you have no idea how to keep, and you expect me to solve your problem. The fact is you are exactly in the same position you were in before we met, but now, somehow, it's my fault."

Hey Wom, do most Australians follow the American political scene as closely as you do, or do you make a special study of it all? And are American political goings-on in the news a lot in Australia?

I live right next door to Canada and listen to a Canadian radio station much of the time, so I have some idea of what's going on over there.. but I don't really follow the political scene all that closely, since it doesn't affect me directly and I have no say in it. (They do cover what's happening in the U.S. much more than American stations cover what's happening in Canada, too.)

[wombat2u2004]

Hey Wom, do most Australians follow the American political scene as closely as you do, or do you make a special study of it all? And are American political goings-on in the news a lot in Australia?

I live right next door to Canada and listen to a Canadian radio station much of the time, so I have some idea of what's going on over there.. but I don't really follow the political scene all that closely, since it doesn't affect me directly and I have no say in it. (They do cover what's happening in the U.S. much more than American stations cover what's happening in Canada, too.)

Not really Pat. I think 99.9% of Australians would probably tell you that "Congress" means a beer and shrimp BBQ. And there's never much on the media here about American politics.
I email a lot of US artillery veterans who were with me in Nam, and when they are unhappy about something, I get bombarded with all kinds of political stuff from over there.
Plus I had a lot of brothers and sisters in law who were Americans (connected to my first wife, who is now ancient history), and they used to talk about their politics to me when they came here or I went there.
So, what I know, which isn't a great deal, came from those sources, and also from PT to......LH is a good source for politics.

[phesina]

As for down sides, well no system is perfect, so we do get the hiccup now and again, but overall it works very well for everyone, and almost everyone is happy with it. Oh, you always get the people who don't agree with the system, but some people don't agree with anything....right??

As to why this system is so contentious in the US, then I'd have to agree with LH on that. We have a very strong economy here, and the government does keep the system going by injecting funds from revenues into it. So I suppose when your economy gets back on it's feet, then there will be less against and more FOR that kind of system.
I do hope you all get it there eventually...I think good health services should be available to all regardless of their situation money wise.

Okay, right, the debt problem means it is not going to happen overnight here, to say the least.

But why do so many "conservatives" believe that national health care is EVIL, period.. not good to let happen ever. "SOCIALIZED MEDICINE!" "DEATH PANELS!" "The Government will decide who lives and who dies!" (rather than the insurance companies, as happens now).

And how did you Australians, Brits, Canadians, others with national health care systems get the resources together to start your systems?

[wombat2u2004]

Okay, right, the debt problem means it is not going to happen overnight here, to say the least.

But why do so many "conservatives" believe that national health care is EVIL, period.. not good to let happen ever. "SOCIALIZED MEDICINE!" "DEATH PANELS!" "The Government will decide who lives and who dies!" (rather than the insurance companies, as happens now).

And how did you Australians, Brits, Canadians, others with national health care systems get the resources together to start your systems?

We have a Medicare levy. The rate of the Medicare levy is 1.5% of taxable income. In some cases, you may be exempt from the medicare levy or eligible for a reduction based on family income.
Low income earners who make less than a certain amount are exempt.
High income earners pay a surcharge in addition to the 1.5% of their taxable income (this is so that the wealthy can't take advantage of the public system, they have a choice, pay the surcharge or get private health insurance.)