Summer Holiday

I don't think it completely sunk in last year... The "Christmas break" here is actually the launch of "summer vacation" for kids. School is actually year-round, but there are some substantial breaks here and there, including this extended one. School starts back up towards the end of February / early March.

Healthcare debate, Australian style

Universal health care is a given in Australia. But the government is always looking for ways to cut expenses - especially those elected to office on the promise of cutting unnecessary costs. The latest storm is brewing on two fronts. The current government is proposing a $6 fee to visit a primary care physician. Private insurance companies are wanting permission from the government to cover primary care costs over the reimbursement rate.

On the $6 proposal, of course advocates are saying poor people will put off visiting the doctor if they have to pay anything. The private insurance proposal is more complicated, as is how private insurers operate in Australia, and what they're allowed to cover. Currently, primary care doctors can charge above the Medicare reimbursement rate, and patients have to pay the difference out of their own pocket. Some doctors only charge the reimbursement rate, and this gives them a steady flow of patients who don't want any out-of-pocket expenses. As more patients have private insurance, insurance is not allowed to cover the higher fees because that could potentially exert upward pressure on physician fees, if they were covered and private insurance patients felt no pain from their own wallet. Eventually there could arise two standards of care - one for patients without insurance, and one for patients with insurance. Insurance companies are arguing that people avoid seeing a doctor because of the out-of-pocket fees. In reality, these would only be patients who are seeing doctors who charge above the reimbursement rate.

It's all rather complicated, but I think I've got the basics right.