Post by Zen on May 16, 2014 1:06:55 GMT -5
I titled this thread Obamacare in the hopes Darryl would read it and get a laugh, it is actually about the Australian health care system.
We got a new Prime Minister (=president) and government a few months back and just this week that government has delivered its first budget. The prime minister has gone on tv saying that our health system needs to be upgraded and overhauled and to be made more like America's...OK Darryl laugh now...
What we had before was FREE health care for every Australian citizen. People who earned over $14 000 paid either 1% or 1.5% in there taxes called a medicare levy. I think 14k up to 150k was 1% and over 150k even into the millions was 1.5%. We paid for prescriptions but at a reduced rate called the PBS (pharmaceutical benefits scheme)which was part of medicare, we paid for xrays, mri's etc and blood tests etc but then got a rebate in cash when you lodged a form, some of that was even bulk billed and you didn't have to pay a cent, it depended on the type of tests.
Now as of July 1st, we still have to pay whatever the medicare levy is for our income group, but now every Australian citizen must have private health cover and the private health cover does absolutely nothing except cost on average $40 a week per person. The way it reads the average person won't be able to afford to go to the doctor. Now we will still have to pay the medicare levy plus in my case (hubby and I) $52 a week and it will still cost us around $70 each time one of us go to the doctor.
One example from about 2 years ago (from when private health care was optional), 2 women both pregnant due about 3 weeks apart, one had private health cover, the other used the public system. We live in a regional area so only one OBGYN, so both had the same doctor, same hospital, both had no complications, the one with private health care had to fork out over $1800 (on top of what they already had to pay for medicare and the fees to there private health fund)to have a baby when the other had it for free. Health care is crazy.