MEDICARE WORKS BECAUSE IT'S ONE IN ALL IN - NOW MIKE BAIRD IS CUTTING NSW LOOSE. MEDICARE WILL BE DESTROYED.

BAIRD BLOWS THE LID OFF 

MEDICARE PRIVATISATION AGENDA

WI

Written by Catherine King 

Federal Member for Ballarat and

Shadow Minister for Health

Posted on March 12, 2016 by winstonclose

Friday, 11 March 2016

NSW Liberal Premier Mike Baird has today exposed the Liberals’ agenda to privatise Medicare, with his plan to allow private insurers to move into general practice.

The Liberal plan to allow private health insurers into GP practices would mark the end of Medicare as a universal health insurance scheme.

It will create a two-tier Americanised health system where those with private cover receive preferential access, and pensioners, benefit card holders and others who cannot afford private insurance are relegated to a safety net system. 

This would be disastrous for patients, but also be disastrous for the health Budget, pushing up GP Fees. 

The previous Minister for Health also toyed with this proposal, allowing a trial of private health insurance in general practice in QLD which saw an administration fee paid and guaranteed appointments within 24 hours for private health insurance customers.  

This is the thin edge of the wedge when it comes to the destruction of our universal health care system and the government must immediately rule it out. 

It’s no coincidence this latest Liberal attack on Medicare comes just weeks after Commonwealth Health department officials revealed at Senate Estimates the Turnbull Government has been working in secret for 18 months on plans to privatise the Medicare payments system.

In both cases, the Liberals have attempted to keep their privatisation agenda secret.

The Liberal move to create a two tier system for general practice was only revealed because of a NSW Labor Freedom of Information request. None of the tenders for the plan to privatise the Medicare payments system were listed on the official government AusTender website.

Today’s revelations confirm that after spending their first two years in office trying to kill Medicare by slashing $60 billion out of health, the Liberals are now spending 2016 trying to sell it.

It confirms yet again, that the Liberals cannot be trusted with health, and cannot be trusted with Medicare.

Australians deserve better than a Government which is determined to wreck Medicare and introduce a two tier Americanised health system where access to care is determined by wealth, not need.

To read more articles by Catherine King, please go here 

THE WHITE-ANTING OF MEDICARE BEGINS - TAKE CARE HOW YOU GO & MIND THAT STEP. MEDICARE MIGHT NOT BE THERE TO CATCH YOU! AND YOUR JOB & YOUR DATA MIGHT HAVE GONE OVERSEAS

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PLAN FOR MEDICARE SELL OFF 

AN UTTER DISGRACE

Tuesday, 9 February 2016

Labor is deeply alarmed at the Turnbull Liberals’ plan to sell off Medicare services which could jeopardise the patient data of every Australian and the jobs of 1400 staff at centres all around the country.

“First the Liberals tried to kill Medicare, now they’re trying to sell it,” said Shadow Health Minister Catherine King.

“We are hugely concerned the Government has highly progressed plans to privatise the delivery of vital government services like Medicare.

“This idea, from the failed Commission of Audit Report, would mean that these important functions would be being delivered for profit, not with the best interests of patients in mind.”

Shadow Minister for Human Services Doug Cameron said its critical private health details stay in Australia.

“This is a disgrace. This is lazy policy from the Liberals. Nowhere else in the world are these services privatised.

“We have seen the results of government incompetence on call wait times and its lax approach to Medicare fraud.”

“Once again the government see the services most important to Australians are just a source for savings.

“Human Services Minister Stuart Robert has been too busy looking after himself and his mates.

“We need a new Minister for Human Services who’s focused on his day job, not looking after Liberal Party donors, to clean up this mess.”

So far, the Abbott-Turnbull Government has failed to ensure that the Department of Human Services recommendations of the Australian National Audit Office (ANAO) report into the integrity of Medicare Customer Data. If the Medicare payments processing arm of DHS is sold off to multinational corporations, the integrity of patient data and personal records is under further threat.

(DHS) has complied with all

Recent revelations that the Australian Tax Office has been sending work to The Philippines has also rung alarms that private data is at risk.

Answers to Senate estimates questions reveal that as well as risking citizens’ data, hundreds of jobs could be sent off shore.

There are 15 key locations that undertake Medicare payment processing. The closure of these offices would have adverse consequences on the local communities. Labor opposes the sell-off of Medicare, beginning with the sell-off of the Medicare payments system.

GO HERE FOR MORE ON THIS ISSUE

Modern ministers for health in the Liberal Party are no friends of families or of Medicare.

Couldn't be at yesterday's

Save Medicare Rally in Melbourne ?

Get a cuppa, sit back, put your feet up ...

and Miss Eagle will make you feel as if you were there.

The ABC News has a done a quite reasonable story

on the rally and the issue.

Then there is this YouTube item

There's a Flickr photostream here

Miss Eagle's rally photos are here

Ian Hall's photo of the march are here.

The march went from the State Library

to the premises of the Business Council of Australia.

The Abbott Government's Commission of Audit

and other elements of the Medicare proposal

have involvement from members of the BCA. 

The research - which is recommending co-payments

for GP visits now fully funded by Medicare - 

has been done by Terry Barnes, an adviser to Tony Abbott,

when he was Health Minister in the Howard Government.

The research was commissioned and funded by the 

Australian Centre for Health Research.

When you visit the last link,

click on the 'About Us' tab on the silver ribbon at the top.

Then go to the side-bar and click on 'Board of Directors'.

Please note who these directors are.

Not one of them could remotely be considered as

a consumer advocate or representative.

ACHR has tried to make itself look as if it is

broad-based or non-political

with the inclusion of 'Labor man' Neil Batt. 

A look at Batt's background should make clear

that he is hardly and working-class man.

An this is certainly the case for the others.

You also might note that the name

Australian Unity has more than a mention.

Australian Unity is a major health insurance fund.

Their self-interest is self-evident.

Should, dear reader, you have health insurance

with Australian Unity you must think upon the 

fact that in giving AU your business, you

are contributing to the downfall of Medicare.

So let's look at the pedigree of this proposal.

There is a Commission of Audit established by Tony Abbott.

It is comprised of members of the Business Council of Australia

(who, it can be assumed, either have the top rank of health insurance

or can afford to pay for their own health services)

and, almost certainly, each are paid up members of the Liberal Party of Australia.

If for some sort of reason, such as a career which requires them to parade

as impartial, I feel confident in guessing that

 they frequent Liberal Party events and people.

The research has been done by a former Liberal Party policy adviser,

Terry Barnes.

Abbott was not the first Liberal Health Minister that Terry Barnes served.

He also worked for Michael Wooldridge.

I don't want to query Barnes's ethics but many have questioned those

of Michael Wooldridge.

Added to the Wikipedia entry, you can read about the MRI scandal

here, here, and here.

All this sort of muck did eventually mean that Wooldridge 

wore out his welcome.

One is left to wonder where Barnes was in all this?

Did he prove to be a gun for hire way back then,

as he clearly is now?

So the background for the Medicare co-payment is indeed circular.

It is an expose, as well, of how some people build their careers

and establish their finances.

It is well to always take heed of Adam Smith.

As he said in his seminal work -

An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations - 

People of the same trade seldom meet together, 

even for merriment and diversion, 

but the conversation ends in a conspiracy against the public, 

or in some contrivance to raise prices.

I would also add 

"or in some way to influence and collude with government".

From Wooldridge to Abbott to Dutton
there is no reason to feel comforted
that Liberal Party Ministers of Health
will act in the best interests of Australian families.

ABBOTT'S NASTY MEDICARE CO-PAYMENT SURROUNDED BY NASTY PEOPLE AND ARGUMENT AND THEN THERE'S THE MURDOCH ROLE

Picture of Rupert Murdoch and Tony Abbott from here

Prime Minister Tony Abbott has been in office less than four months and there are now press reports of a crucial change to the pillar of Australian health delivery, Medicare. As I write, Terry Barnes is speaking on ABC 24. Barnes was a health adviser to Tony Abbott when he was Minister for Health in the government of John Howard.

Interpolation: I am very critical of Abbott and his government but I believe in giving credit where credit is due.  I was very grateful to Abbott as Minister for Health.  Through my life, I had always taken care of my teeth.  I am getting older and had not been able to afford visits to dentists. As well, I was suffering a number of chronic illnesses.  Health not top notch.  Now, dentists - historically - have avoided any form of medicare as if it was the plague.  Under Abbott, a number of Medicare numbers became available to allied health professionals so that areas such as dentistry, psychology, podiatry and so on opened up and people could be bulk billed for a limited number of visits or, in the case of dentistry, a limited amount of money in a particular time period. There were two qualifiers - three chronic diseases and a care plan from your medical practice.  Initially, there were no dentists available anywhere near me making it impossible to take advantage of Abbott's new scheme.  Gradually, however, dentists began to come on board.  I found a dentist and over time received two or three bundles of credit.  For me it was like winning a lottery.  The scheme was closed down under Labor amid accusations of the scheme being rorted by well-off people getting cosmetic surgery.  I can't speak about that but Labor never did mention the boon to aged pensioners like myself in poor health without the ability to get desperately needed dental work.  Surely, if there was rorting by the rich a means test would have rectified the problem.  When the scheme was finally closed in November 2011, Labor put nothing - yes, nothing - in its place. They made a huge fanfare and promised to fund more 'chairs' for public dentistry but that is not due to start in 2014.  I'll be keeping a watching brief on that ... particularly now that there is a new government which does not have to take responsibility for a policy announced but not implemented by Labor.  My betting is that there will be little, probably no, dentistry available.  The major difference between the Abbott program and Labor's proposal is that eligible people could book in with a private dentist like any other patient.  No waiting list as there had been in public facilities.

Now that I have done the niceties with a tip of my forelock to Abbott, back to the matter at hand.  

Barnes's recommendation is part of a commissioned private proposal presented to the National Commission of Audit.  I have not got exact confirmation but I believe that the Barnes report was commissioned by the Australian Centre for Health Research.  [For the Terms of Reference of the NCA, please see the document embedded below. It can be read here on line or down-loaded from this post.]  The term "commissioned private proposal" I interpret as code for saying that this is a Liberal Party generated proposal, more than likely with Abbott's consent, put together by an adviser to the Minister for Health (namely Abbott) in the previous Liberal-National Party Government.  The National Commission of Audit is not a new concept.  The same thing occurred when John Howard Government came to power. 

The Commissioners for the Abbott Government's National Commission of Audit are:

Tony Shepherd, Chair

Dr Peter Boxall AO

Mr Tony Cole AO

Mr Robert Fisher AM

The Hon Amanda Vanstone

It seems to me that the personnel of the National Commission of Audit are there for a combination of bureaucratic expertise and political  and business gate-keeping.  The NCA is certainly not informed by either policy or economic vision.  

Back to Terry Barnes and his appearance on ABC 24.

One of the problems that could be brought about by imposition of the $5 co-payment - people opting for an Emergency Department visit instead of a visit to the GP -  is easily dealt with according to Barnes.  No probs, says Barnes.  State Governments could introduce a co-payment on Emergency Department visits in State Hospitals!  In short, there will be gate-keeping either at your General Practice or at the Emergency Department of your local hospital.  

There will be sufficient concessions introduced to induce you not to complain.  Pensioners and concession card holders will be exempt from the co-payment.  Families will be provided with 12 free bulk-billed visits annually.  

Barnes think that the co-payment, even the co-payment at Emergency Departments, is not a big deal.  He compares it, blithely, to no more than the price of a burger and chips. Silly me.  I thought we were trying to encourage a healthy diet away from burger and chips.  Not all poor families frequent Maccas or its competitors.  They care for their budget and they care for their health.  I don't believe that Barnes, those who commissioned his report, and those who will receive it have a clue about ordinary families let alone poor families.  None of those on the Commission of Audit have taken young families to the GP recently ... so how do they have a clue?

Lastly, why has this been spread first all across the Murdoch Press?  Melbourne's Herald Sun is full of praise for the proposal. This then is propaganda.

Why did Abbott not announce this at the election?  Fearful of the polls?

Why did Abbott not have a national conversation about this post-election?  Fearful.

Clearly the Abbott government is determined to implement this policy while maintaining its distance as the conversation goes on somewhere else ... anywhere else but having the conversation take place between the nation, himself and his Ministers, Peter Dutton and Fiona Nash.  No.  This policy is to be introduced by sleight of hand ... or by some amount of apparent coercion by the Commission of Audit.  

We will be told over and again 

>    how this has to happen.

>   how a price signal has to be sent.

>   how it is a small and reasonable amount.

>   how it will not prevent people seeing a doctor

ad infinitum, ad nauseam.  

Please continue to follow 

the introduction of a dishonest policy, 

by dishonest people in support of a dishonest government.

CAMPAIGN TO SAVE OUR MEDICARE: Keep health care free and universal for all Australians

The Abbott Government threatens to re-introduce 

a $5 fee for every visit to the doctor.

This policy will unfairly target

those in our community who make frequent visits

to their doctor:

the elderly, the poor, expecting Mums, families with kids.

For years, Medicare has been an Australian institution.

Medicare is the envy of the world.

It provides free and universal health care.

This great and useful policy is now under threat.

Here's how you can help:

- Let your friends and your family know that these changes are unfair.

- Share this post to support the campaign to keep Medicare working for ALL Australians. 

- Tell Health Minister Peter Dutton how you feel by emailing him at

 Peter.Dutton.MP@aph.gov.au 

OR 

on his Facebook page:

https://www.facebook.com/peterduttonmp

Let's send a message to the AustralianGovernment: 

Keep health care free 

and universal for all Australians.

Growing old in America ... not for the faint-hearted

Why is it that the inner me doesn't match the outer me?  I'm only 18 on the inside but the outer me displays for all to see that I have added an extra half century to that.  I follow a wonderful blog for those in my demographic - Time Goes By.  It is American, so there is a bit of a difference.  But every Sunday (Monday our time), there is a music post done by an Australian living in Melbourne.  I highly commend it. Glenn A Baker, please take note.

To-day, I have lifted a post from Time Goes By ... just a reminder of how good things can be in the Land of Oz and how pathetic a once great nation such as the USA has become for ordinary folk. To be sure, there are some things Australian elders will recognise from their life experience - but we do have more substantial undergirding, in my view, than US citizens have.  So please, no whingeing after reading this ... just thankfulness that Oz has not become an altogether thoughtless, compassion-less country ... yet.

~~~~

 

If you are old today – let's say 55 and up – and not wealthy (that is, most of us), you live under constant threat of financial disaster. Here is Crabby Old Lady's list of what has happened to elders in the past four years since the 2008 crash:

1. IRAs, 401(k)s and other retirement investments have been decimated; many have never recovered and never will


2. Home values have dropped by a third or more leaving many with underwater mortgages and in some cases, unfair foreclosures


3. Millions have been and continue to be laid off from their jobs


4. Age discrimination means it takes older workers longer to find the next job than any other age group


5. Many older workers who don't find that next job are forced into early retirement resulting in a lower Social Security Security benefit for life

[Crabby understands that people of all ages are living with brutal financial circumstances but this blog is concerned with elders.]

For many elders, the slightest uptick in food prices, for example, or even a minor emergency can mean choosing between eating and buying prescribed medications.

Those are the current conditions. Let's take a look at some of the threats.

• About half the politicians in Congress want to take away or dramatically cut Social Security, Medicare and food stamps among other programs for the poor, disabled and aged. 
• Just as many of them, along with a large number of state governors, want to kill Medicaid which affects elder dual eligibles.
• Many of those same elected officials want to raise the retirement age – that is, the age at which full Social Security benefits are allowed – to 70.

Generally, Crabby Old Lady has no objection to people working longer than 66 or 67 but only if they are physically capable so she believes that any legislation raising the retirement age must include accommodation for those whose bodies cannot do it any longer.

Please recall, too, as we have said here many times, that people's bodies age at dramatically different rates so it is not just those who have done heavy physical labor who may not be able to continue working.

With all that in mind, however, there is the elephant in the room, the unspoken Catch-22:  they already refuse to allow us work even until we reach the current retirement age.

It's called age discrimination in the workplace. It has always existed but it has become grimly more visible during our four-year recession than in the past.

The average length of unemployment for older workers is at an all-time high — well over a year. On average, it takes someone age 55 or older three months longer to find a job than a younger person.

“These long-term unemployed are disproportionately composed of older workers — who, compared to younger workers, are less likely to lose their jobs, but more likely to have trouble finding re-employment if they are laid off,” reports The New York Times

“Given how far behind these workers have already fallen, it may turn out that many of these Americans will never work again.”

Exactly. Just like me as I've written about here in the past. But I was 63 when I was laid off from my last job. Even though with careful budgeting and belt-tightening I was able to squeak by until I was old enough for full benefits at age 65 and 10 months, I still wound up with a reduced Social Security benefit for not having any income during the last two-and-a-half years until my eligibility.

It's much worse if you are laid off, for example, in your late fifties or early sixties and must scrimp by until age 62 and then take reduced early Social Security benefit. And don't forget that when you do that, you're stuck at the lower figure for the rest of your life. But many have no choice if they enjoy eating.

Speaking of eating, 46.2 million people (nearly one in seven Americans) receive food stamp (SNAP program) aid. According to the National Council on Aging (NCOA), three million of them are elders.

[By the way, many more elders than the three million are eligible but do not know it. If you believe you or someone you know might be among them, you can find eligibility rules for people age 60 and older here.]

Last week, the House passed a farm bill that cuts $16 billion from the SNAP program while retaining subsidies for corporate farmers. If the bill passes in the Senate, between two and three million people will be thrown off SNAP and 21 million children will no longer qualify for free school lunches.

So one way or another, the people who already stole elders' savings, homes and livelihoods leaving millions in drastically reduced financial circumstances for their old age now seek to further impoverish them.

This is how it is to be old in America today. 

+++++++++++++++++

Australia's Age Pension

Australian Medicare Services (universal medical insurance, etc)

Pharmaceutical benefits  (unlike Americans we don' have to cross borders to get affordable medicine)

Chronic Disease Dental Scheme (this is coming to an end - will have to see how what comes next works)

Assistance with care and housing for the aged

Aged Care Australia

We're getting older - and the elderly need help

Australian population by age and sex

Australian Government's Seniors Portal

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