We are not immune from the 'spin' that is currently sending people into the streets in USA. The government subsidising of private health insurance favours those who can afford the insurance costs over the needs of the rest of the population - while expecting those not privately insured to pay for it. Those of us old enough to remember the introduction of Medibank (Medicare) will know that the Liberal Party then vigorously opposed it.
"‘Medibank’ was the most controversial element of Labor’s reform program, being opposed all the way by the Opposition, the Australian Medical Association and the private health funds... Rejected three times by the Senate, the Bills were eventually passed by 95 votes to 92 at a joint sitting of both Houses of Parliament on 7 August 1974." from 1974 CABINET RECORDS – SELECTED DOCUMENTS; Abstract: Medibank - Implementation.
Since, it has remained a minefield for politicians seeking to get rid of it. That hasn't prevented subsequent governments - including Labor - chipping away at it while professing their commitment. All of the changes have been made with the patently untrue assertion that they would make it better and 'fairer'. How can moving us more and more towards a US style health system be fairer, given the mess that country's health system is in?
Private management of public essential services inevitably further disadvantages the most economically and socially disadvantaged in society because the private sector is driven by profit.
According to Kenneth Davidson, in The Age this morning: "But in the popular imagination - reinforced by politicians who need a scapegoat for their funding decisions - it is maladministration of public hospitals and Medicare that are seen as the root of the public health crisis." The poor have to pay so the rich can stay healthy
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