Prepare to bend over, Australia.
KRudd is introducing his RuddCare against the will of the Australian people.
We will not surrender our hospitals to an incompetent centralized bureaucracy led by a narcissistic power-hungry egomaniac.
Posted on 03/03/2010 6:57:33 AM PST by myknowledge
Kevin Rudd says Australia's ailing hospitals are in need of serious surgery, and he's planning to bribe the states to give him the power to get on with the job.
Under the federal government's health plan the commonwealth would fund public hospitals and locals would run them.
Under the plan, the federal government will take $90 billion over five years - $50 billion over the first three - in GST revenue from the states for a new National Health and Hospital Network.
Prime Minister Kevin Rudd says it is the biggest change to health care since Medicare.
In exchange, the states will save $15 billion in the five years to 2020 and potentially tens of billions more after that.
That's because Canberra is promising to fund 60 per cent of all hospital costs going forward, rather than the current 35 per cent.
The commonwealth will also run and fund all health care provided outside hospitals.
"The Australian government's decision to take on the dominant funding role for the entire public hospital system is designed to end the blame game, to eliminate waste and to shoulder the funding burden of the rapidly rising health costs of the future," Mr Rudd said on Wednesday.
The new local hospital networks will be made up of one to four hospitals.
They'll be run by local health and financial professionals "rather than central bureaucracies" and be required to meet tough national service and performance standards.
If patients can't get into emergency departments or elective surgery fast enough hospitals will be penalised.
The federal government also plans to introduce activity-based funding from July 2012.
Hospitals will be paid a set amount - determined by an independent umpire - per treatment. If it costs them more to deliver, the relevant state will have to pay the difference.
It's hoped this will make hospitals lift their game and save $1.3 billion a year.
Health Minister Nicola Roxon says this "fundamental change" is crucial to the plan's success.
"If you're doing 10,000 hip surgeries, you get paid for 10,000 hip surgeries," the health minister said.
"We pay 60 per cent, the state pays 40 per cent. It does remove that argument over funding."
Additional funding for the states will make the deal "hard to walk away from", Ms Roxon said.
The country's only Liberal premier, Western Australia's Colin Barnett, believes national funding has merit. He says he'll analyse the plan carefully.
"I said (to Mr Rudd) we would take a sensible, careful approach," he told reporters.
"(But) he'll need to do it by co-operation, not force."
Doctors, nurses and health consumers all gave the reform a tentative thumbs-up on Wednesday.
"This is good health reform in principle," Australian Medical Association president Andrew Pesce said.
Giving Canberra greater control was "worthy" and shouldn't be dismissed out of hand, the Australian Nursing Federation said.
The Consumers Health Forum argued local networks should result in people having a greater say about what services are provided in their community.
But the federal opposition slammed the plan.
Coalition Leader Tony Abbott said nothing was going to happen until 2012 at the earliest.
"The timing of the roll-out of this proposal raises suspicions this is a fix for an election campaign, not a fix for the public hospitals system," Mr Abbott said.
If the states and territories aren't prepared to give up control in exchange for the commonwealth paying more, the prime minister says, he'll take the plan to the people.
A referendum this year could "give the Australian government all the power it needs to reform the health system", Mr Rudd said.
Prepare to bend over, Australia.
KRudd is introducing his RuddCare against the will of the Australian people.
We will not surrender our hospitals to an incompetent centralized bureaucracy led by a narcissistic power-hungry egomaniac.
OBAMANOMICS—TRICKLE DOWN DESTRUCTION of the economy
SET THEIR LOCAL AND DC LINES ON FIRE!
PLEASE ASK THEM TO REPEAL THE BIG NEW FEES in TRICARE for Life, the retired Military over 65 secondary health ins. which they passed in a DOD bill. They promised our Military these benefits, and our Military have earned them.
Bambi doesn’t keep his promises...so buyer beware!
Sen Scott Brown’s number is 202-224-4543
Capitol Hill switchboard is 202-224-3121
Lots of local demwit phone numbers on this thread
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/2408217/posts
Rename, repackage, rewrite it a tad smaller, and sell another pig in a poke. NO COLAs for granny, retired Military or retired fed employees. BIG NEW fees for Tricare for Life retired over 65 Military’s secondary health ins.
(DOD bill already passed, delayed but goes into effect 2011 NEEDS TO BE REPEALED!
OBAMA’s WAR ON SENIORS http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2433867/posts/
New Dem mantra: Woof, woof eat dog food granny....ala let them eat cake. http://www.lifenews.com/bio3058.html
Friday, February 19, 2010
Obama says slight fix will extend Social Security
http://townhall.com/news/us/2010/02/19/obama_says_slight_fix_will_extend_social_security
Health Care Rationing for Seniors Another Problem in New Obama Plan http://www.lifenews.com/bio3058.html
Medicare tax may apply to investment income (ObamaCare tax hike)
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2460988/posts
SOCIALIZED MED THREAD http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/2462963/posts
TRI CARE FOR LIFE This from a google search:
http://economicspolitics.blogspot.com/2009/05/tricare-for-life-is-obama-trying-to.html
This option would help reduce the costs of TFL, as well as costs for Medicare, by introducing minimum out-of pocket requirements for beneficiaries. Under this option, TFL would not cover any of the first $525 of an enrollee’s cost-sharing liabilities for calendar year 2011 and would limit coverage to 50 percent of the next $4,725 in Medicare cost sharing that the beneficiary incurred. (Because all further cost sharing would be covered by TFL, enrollees could not pay more than $2,888 in cost sharing in that year.) http://www.cbo.gov/ftpdocs/99xx/doc9925/12-18-HealthOptions.pdf
http://www.vawatchdog.org/09/hcva09/hcva110609-1.htm
Bill Would Restrict Veterans’ Health Care Options 11/06/09
Buyer and McKeon Offer Amendments to Protect Veterans and TRICARE Beneficiaries
Congress plans to block Tricare fee increases
http://www.armytimes.com/news/2009/10/military_tricarefees_blocked_100709w
http://www.navytimes.com/news/2009/10/military_tricarefees_blocked_100709w/
By Rick Maze - Staff writer, Oct 7, 2009
Tricare fee increases imposed last week by the Defense Department will be repealed by a provision of the compromise 2010 defense authorization bill unveiled Wednesday by House and Senate negotiators.
Snip The fee increases were announced on Sept. 30 and took effect on Oct. 1, but the defense bill, HR 2647, includes a provision barring any fee increases until the start of fiscal 2011.
Snip
Retired Army Maj. Gen. Bill Matz, president of the National Association for Uniformed Services, said the announcement of fee increases was shocking considering that the Obama administration promised earlier this year to hold off on any new fee Tricare fee increases until fiscal 2011.
“President Obama and DoD assured NAUS and the entire military family earlier this year that there would rightly be no increases in any Tricare fees” in fiscal 2010, Matz said. “We took them at their word, and I can’t believe that a co-pay increase like this was allowed to go forward,” he added.
Federalizing hospitals. A whole new unaccountable bureaucracy!! Thats going to solve the problem.... NOT
Rudd is taking ques from the UK’s NHS which has been so successful running its hospitals. Aussi hospitals will soon be third world.
Maybe....because if they can give it, they can take it away. Be very suspicious.
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