nichy wrote on Feb 7
th, 2011 at 4:28pm:
I doubt that she will cut the health insurance rebate, too many votes to be lost and it will increase the pressure on both the health system and the government where it is very much under scrutiny with health reforms prior to COAG.
Incidentally, many Labor voters have health insurance too.
Yes and why was it brought in?
Because Private health insurance was not a value for money, every year premiums increased yet gaps between insurance and actual cost made it a waste of money.You paid for both.
So instead of increaseing funding to public health as people deserted an uncompeditive farce we got 30% off,rebated and the costs continues to rise although somehow we believe we are now getting a good deal because the"government" picks up the tab for 30%?
Newsflash it's our money anyway, so we pay for a public system as well as proping up an uncompeditive private system.
No cut the rebate and force the market to set the price of private health, put our tax dollars into the public system instead of the pockets of shareholders.
If as we hear the market is the best mechanism why not use it, why does it need public money to hold onto customers?
We should let them sink or swim by their own merits i.e value for money.
Yes I've heard the argument the public system will be inundated but guess what we can put more of OUR money(tax) into it if need be we pay for 2 systems now so why not more into just 1, and besides unless it's elective non life threating surgury you will be in a public hospital anyway.
There are no emergency wards in private hospitals so in a car crash and unconcious, having a heart attack etc you'll wake up in a public ward.