rocks in her head

It is easy to say that Shadow Health Minister Nicola Roxon has rocks in her head. But judging by some of her comments this week about private health insurance she has to wear it.

Admittedly her heart is in the right place when she raises concerns about possible/probable increase in premiums if new health insurance laws go through that would permit insurance companies to pay for sophisticated  medical procedures outside of hospitals – such as  chemotherapy.

But the Government argues all future requests for premium increases would still have to get approval from PHIAC – the consumer watchdog on the industry.

So far so good. But then Ms. Roxon shoots her mouth off in a real Leftie spray that seems designed to make people who HAVE private health insurance feel guilty about other people who don’t. Don’t want it or can’t afford it.

Her solution is that everybody should have access to out-of-hospital treatment even if they don’t have private cover. She says the uninsured should get similar treatment to the insured. Which raises the point: why pay those thousands of dollars a year for private cover then?

What Ms. Roxon also misses is the bleeding obvious. If patients with private insurance are getting treated away from hospitals then they are not clogging facilities and beds in public hospitals. And that would contribute to reducing the scandalous waiting lists all over Victoria.

I am old enough to remember the political scandal when Paul Keating admitted he didn’t have Private Health Insurance. People thought it was outrageous that a federal Treasurer who could afford private health would use a public hospital.

And one other thing that Ms. Roxon conveniently overlooks is that even when you are paying the highest rate of blue ribbon insurance those thousands of dollars don’t ensure you won’t be further out of pocket. You still have to pay the Medicare levy on your annual taxes and expensive treatments, not fully reimbursed, can cost you thousands of dollars if you have a serious illness.

I know. My letter box has been filled with bills on a weekly basis for the past year. I’m not complaining because at least by shouldering my own health costs I am not occupying a bed in a public hospital or lengthening the queue for public hospital treatment.

Thursday, February 8, 2007

©Copyright Derryn Hinch 2007