My 84yo mum went for a routine imaging test today and the cost was entirely covered by the Australian Medicare system.
The results were instantly sent to her General Practitioner who sent her a text saying that all is well on that front even without a visit (that would have been covered by Medicare anyway).
Yes, we pay taxes to have it, and itβs not even close to perfect, but socialised medical care if pretty f****** good IMHO.
To be fair, it is complex but the consumer inevitably wins.
Where I live, health insurance companies and pharmacyβs are regarded as blue chip because theyβre guaranteed a stable income.
The government negotiates the price, enforces it, and reliably pays what it owes.
Business β€οΈs that kind of stability.
Oh, they so desperately want to do it here too, but we simply won let them.
An anecdote:
A few years ago a conservative treasurer suggested- and only suggested - adding a $7 co-pay for GP doctor visits.
He had to resign from Parliament to protect his party against the vicious backlash. π
π I was born in Canada but my anecdote is about my adopted home Australia.
Canadians are super cool though! π¨π¦
@DyDave For the most part we are.π @Gladari @NorthernInvader
@Tacitus_Kilgore @DyDave @NorthernInvader
ππππ πβΊοΈ
@DyDave @NorthernInvader
Wow! I was born and raised in MN, with "MN nice". Always loved Canada & Canadians and thought they were even nicer than us. Never thought any could do "vicious"! But good on you & your fellow countrypeople! We really need that spunk and drive here to send all of the fascists vulture capitalists back to their dark holes!