Hi all,
       why does no one understand how clever Medicare is - and by
extension, Medicare Old?

 Before Medicare, GPs were earning $250K, in 1974 dollars equivalent
to over a million today... the greedy bastards. If you're sick, it's a
seller's market. You pay anything for a doctor.

 Bulk billing sucked them right in, and today it has perhaps turned
the screw too far, where the average GP is *still* earning $250K.
Given free rein, GPs would charge $400/hour and Medicare limitsthem
to about $120/hr.

 Medicare is brilliant on several levels (probably a fluke).

1.  The rich can't object because they use it too. Administration is
   minimal - no money changes hands.
2.  Doctors can take it or leave it, their choice, but if they choose
   not to bulk-bill they lose half their business.
3.  Specialists who use the Public Hospital system (most do) get a
   fixed Medicare fee.

 The Latham extension (actually Simon Crean and the Catholic
Hospitals) uses exactly the same principles, to *reduce* Private
Hospital costs. Instead of putting money into an insurance (Liberal
mates) fund, he puts it into private hospitals, and once they become
addicted to this easy money for old farts, he can screw them by not
increasing the payment... just as Hawke did with Medicare, and dopey
Howard took too far in order to *murder* medicare.

 It will reduce Public Hospital waiting time for minor operations,
by using the private hospital excess capacity (that they *have* to
have in order to compete wiotheach other). 

 And incidentally, it will help old people get fixed.

 My mother was a good example. 

 After 90 years of pushing her size-8 feet into size-6 shoes, the
second  toe had rebelled and crossed over the big toe in a permanent
deformity. The bone doctor recommended amputation. Twleve months later
she was still on the waiting list, the big day arrived, I booked her
in, but she was bumped... go home and we'll call you (don't call us).
Three months later, she got the call and told the hospital to stick
her toes up their arse. So she hobbled and made pain her friend,
grasshopper.

 A few years later... she was short of breath, I took her to
Emergency on the orders of the local GP, waited 5 hours, saw a frantic
intern who diagnosed asthma (bloody ridiculous when Mum was 95 and
never had asthma), but at least she wasn't having a heart attack. We
came home at 1AM (Mum's use-by time was 9PM), she fell out of bed and
I took her back to the Emergency at 5AM the next morning, they
admitted her for a broken hip (they were wrong), but at least we saw a
proper geriatrician who prescribed proper pills for her failing heart.
Three weeks in hopital (and upwards of $15,000) later...

 An ER is not the right place for geriatrics. 12-month waiting lists
are real. Medicare-Old will fix it.

 And the *rally* clever part is that it will steal at least 20% of
the vote Johnny Dickhead  he calls his own... the geriatric vote. It
used to frigthen me, the way Mum's geriatric-mates *loved* Johnny
Fuckwit. They reckon he's one fo theirs!

 Poor old bastard! He ought to go on the pension, got to his reward
as afaithful servant, and FOAD.

Regards,
Bob


      

--- BQWK Alpha 0.5