tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6764224575243520295.post9207246478664161938..comments2023-10-08T05:39:47.622-04:00Comments on Bright Nepenthe: The Wonders of Health Insurance (Healthcare Reform... still)Marziehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11095675159000283648noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6764224575243520295.post-39216147635730285942010-04-13T16:49:30.457-04:002010-04-13T16:49:30.457-04:00All I can say is I want to move to Australia. And ...All I can say is I want to move to Australia. And I'm with you, Sally, I don't get what is wrong with public healthcare either. To me it is a moral and humanitarian issue.Mariellehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09276286373160055302noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6764224575243520295.post-74693754195519104222010-04-13T07:18:07.234-04:002010-04-13T07:18:07.234-04:00OK, let me add the potential costs up for Australi...OK, let me add the potential costs up for Australia where we have "socialised" medicine:<br /><br />Iniital Dr's visit $0.00 <br />Zithromax ~$22.00 (subsidised by the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme - hated by the US Pharmaceutical companies, see: http://www.aftinet.org.au/papers/sainsbury1.html)<br />Prescription cough suppressant, ~$22.00 (again PBS subsidised)<br />X-ray at public hospital $0.00<br />4 x more additional prescriptions ~$88.00 (PBS subsidised)<br /><br />Total in your case $132.00 <br /><br />Total if a pensioner $24.00<br /><br />That's all if you have no health insurance at all, so no monthly expense is needed to keep the price down to that compared with the health insurance subidised alternative you dealt with.<br /><br />Pensioners her get their prescription medications subsidised so they pay only $4.00 per prescription and there is a cap per annum, beyond which they're provided free.<br /><br />I still can't figure out what's wrong with having health subsidised by the public system. It's certainly a lot cheaper both for the people involved and the government - and as an incidental, children and the poor can always afford to be treated.Salstahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02942736446853601057noreply@blogger.com