Have we seen the first signs that Medicare will soon be extinct? Many have interpreted recent parliamentary comments as another step on the path to abolishing Medicare, but will the change happen and what is the best solution for Australia.
Federal opposition leader Malcolm Turnbull recently voiced his opinion that every Australian should have private health insurance. In an attempt to win back some public support following a string of economic mismanagement blunders, the Federal government has jumped on Mr. Turnbull for his comments.
Health Minister Nicola Roxon has twisted his comments and claimed that Mr. Turnbull is trying to force people on low incomes to pay private health insurance. This attack is clearly intended to divert attention away from her own governments proposed private health insurance measures.
The Medicare system is always a topic of hot debate. A number of reforms have been introduced over the years under the guise of ensuring the system is fair for all. In reality, the changes have been introduced in order to promote greater uptake of private health insurance cover.
Although Mr. Turnbull has never clearly stated any intention to force people onto private health insurance, this does seem to be the agenda for both major political parties. There is the possibility that Ms. Roxon’s statement may have been correct when previous Liberal party health system reforms are examined in detail.
The most obvious measure introduced by the previous government was the strong push for the public to switch onto private health insurance and remove the claim liability from Medicare. Attractive rebates were offered as an incentive to the public, with numerous Australians succumbing to the lure of the private health insurance candy cane.
Unlike an individual on Medicare, someone with private health insurance is generally more reluctant to make frivolous claims. Similar to car insurance, there can be a loss of no-claim bonus effect, with the individual made to suffer from higher premiums in the future.
It has been reported that up to 80% of visits to the general practitioner are for minor illnesses such as colds and sore throats. These illnesses will pass on their own without any medical intervention, usually within 3-5 days. Australia features a culture of people seeing the doctor for the most trivial reasons and this places a tremendous strain on the national health system and Medicare.
With private health insurance customers losing a portion of this mentality, it can only benefit Australia as a whole, with a reduced burden on the national health system. The other financial benefit stems from the fact that these individuals are now contributing a greater portion of their income towards the health system.
The main problem with Medicare, and to a lesser extent private health insurance initiatives, is that it effectively creates a monopoly for doctors and western health methods. Visits to doctors are never questioned and neither are all the scans, tests and specialist referrals they request. With an attitude that Medicare will pay for it, its no wonder doctors are acting like medical cowboys.
A classic example is the chest x-ray which is ordered to confirm the flu. Surely the doctor should have the ability to diagnose the flu without the need of a chest x-ray. What about the standard response of ordering blood tests when a person is feeling ‘sick’? Bed rest normally helps and after a few days the person is feeling better.
Part of this test ordering madness can be contributed to the fear of litigation faced by doctors. There are always instances where a serious illness is not diagnosed and then the patient looks to blame the doctor for not conducting a thorough examination, or failing to order a particular test.
This has resulted in a culture of doctors ordering every possible test to be conducted, but to save themselves from a lawsuit rather than diagnose the illness. The negative financial impact of this test ordering culture is borne by the taxpaying public and their contributions to the medical system. This strain on the medical system needs to be resolved and firm guidelines put in place to avoid abuse of funds.
Further abuse of funds can be seen in the ridiculous fees that some doctors charge for their services. Paramount to extortion, no questions are asked by the government in relation to these excessive charges. The patient has no reason to question the charges either if Medicare or their health insurance company foots the bill, allowing the doctors to get away scot free.
In the meantime, cheaper and more effective medical treatments are rejected as they do not fall under the western medicine banner. Traditional medicinal practices such as acupuncture and herbal remedies have been shown to be effective for thousands of years, and there are many instances of these treatments being able to cure diseases that western medicine is ineffective against.
For a person who is shuffled from doctor to doctor and receives multiple tests on a weekly basis in an attempt to diagnose their illness, a tremendous cost is borne by the medical system. Yet if an effective traditional treatment was covered by Medicare, the costs would be far lower and the patient would cease suffering at an earlier stage.
The best solution to the medical system dilemma is a drastic one. If the medical system was scrapped altogether, all of the above problems would be alleviated. Medicare and private health insurance are the creators of the problems and if Australians no longer relied on these methods, we would see a dramatic improvement in medical treatment.
If people had to pay for their own medical expenses, they would naturally not see doctors for trivial illnesses. If they were able to choose the doctor of their choice, that would create healthy competition and force the extortionists from the market.
In a free market, traditional treatments would be allowed to flourish, creating more competition for western doctors and further expense reduction. Patients would receive greater levels of care and a wider variety of treatment options.
We seem to be heading down the path of Medicare extinction, and this will only be of benefit to Australians if a private health insurance ‘monopoly’ does not replace it.