PCOS Message Board - View Single Post - Health Costs in Australia vs other countries...an observation

Emmando · 10-07-2003, 09:14 PM

Mez

I agree with you! We are very lucky here to get the support that we do although a lot of people would say its not enough. I believe its a good balance. In the UK because all health care is free then you get huge waiting lists, i even waited 11 hours in emergency to be assessed when i broke my neck. As well as tax, every earner is charged a National Health levy which is pretty steep. So although England is always quoted as having a lower tax than Australia it doesnt take this levy into account. I am much happier paying for private health insurance over here as i pay a lot less and i get better service. As long as there is a safety net in place for those who really cant afford it then im happy.

So what do you reckon about the plan to not allow higher income earners access to medicare? I havent read much about it but am assuming that i would probably be out of pocket to the tune of a couple of thousand dollars a year. I worry that people will only go to the doctors when they are really sick and not go for some health checks ie skin cancer checks or smears if they have to pay. I know when i go to the docs i only see them about my "worst" or most immediate difficulty and never get round to mentioning some of the other stuff - PCOS being a perfect example as i didnt ask questions after diagnosis for over 10 years.

Anyway JMHO what does anyone else reckon?

Em