Replying to a message of George Pope to Steve Asher:

 GP> On (15 Nov 03) Steve Asher wrote to All...
 SA>> Minister wants health smartcards
 SA>> 
 SA>> NOVEMBER 14, 2003
 SA>> 
 SA>> THE health system would be in "systemic paralysis" if
a smartcard
 SA>> carrying an individual's medical history was not available within
 SA>> five years, Health Minister Tony Abbott said.  Speaking at a a
 SA>> public policy conference in Melbourne, Mr Abbott said more needed to
 SA>> be done to stop the 18,000 preventable deaths in hospitals each
 SA>> year.  "If ambulance officers or emergency department doctors could
 SA>> use patients' Medicare cards or some other widely-available
 SA>> smartcard to access their medical records and health information,
 SA>> much unnecessary testing and counter productive treatment could be
 SA>> avoided," he told the 2003 Economic and Social Outlook Conference. 
 SA>> "The result could be significant cost savings, substantially better
 SA>> health care and hundreds of people alive who would otherwise would
 SA>> be dead."

 GP> Sounds plausible. . .

 GP> What if it were so?

 GP> I can see such a system being put in place being beneficial -- of
 GP> course, any who wanted to opt out, for privacy reasons could do so,

Government won't allow that.  They want records - and not just health
records - on EVERYBODY, not just those who think it's a good idea.  If
people are allowed to opt out it's a hole in their control system.

You won't be allowed to 'opt out' for very long.  The government will claim
they need the information for statistical analysis and they must have *all*
the data, not just data from those who agree to provide it.

 GP> but if the lack of timely access to detailed & accurate health
 GP> information resulted in redundant tests/etc. being done, then the
 GP> privacynik would be fairly assessed the full additional costs, in
 GP> lieu of mandating universal compliance with the Health card program,
 GP> is this not reasonable?

Yes it is, but it's a hole in their control system and it won't last.

Did you know that in the US it is flat-out illegal to treat a Medicare
eligible individual outside of the Medicare system?  Even if the
prospective patient is filthy rich, doesn't *need* Medicare and can afford
to buy the d*mn hospital with petty cash, it's illegal to provide care for
him or her outside of the Medicare system.

 GP> To keep to the topic of the echo, certainly there's too much room for
 GP> abuse in such a Health Card system, and we all know that when there's
 GP> a potential for abuse, especially involving any profitable angles,
 GP> there WILL be abuse!

Yep.

 GP> The question, regarding this Oz program is: Is the abuse already
 GP> planned/included, or is the danger more one of opening the door to
 GP> POTENTIAL issues/problems?

I don't think the politicos plan ahead any farther than the next election. 
Medicare, of course, was only supposed to cost $2billion - that's what was
promised back in the late sixties when it was invented; it's $200billion
and mounting.  Way back in 1916, the income tax was supposed to be four
percent or less, and only apply to people who made more than $10K/year
(back when Ford was paying about $5/week and that was considered good
money, $10K/year was considered rich); unfortunately they didn't write that
limit into the amendment because nobody thought it would be necessary.

There are always problems with *any* government run program, ordinary
people will try to 'game' the system, politicians will use them to buy
votes and bureaucrats will use them to acquire and increase their power and
importance.

FWIW this system is shutting down permanently at midnight tonight...

---