Medicare not solely well being service that wastes cash
With the highlight at present on the thousands and thousands being misplaced by the rorting of Medicare (“Minister considers unbiased evaluation of Medicare rorts”, October 19), to not be forgotten is the spectacular waste of taxpayer {dollars} that My Well being Report has proved to be. After being launched with nice fanfare, it has develop into, normally, of little worth as a result of failure of the vast majority of specialists and hospitals to add knowledge into it. It’s ironic that main considerations relating to it initially centred round privateness of the data it contained, whereas now sufferers are continuously dissatisfied by the shortage of any significant and up-to-date data held inside it. Louise Dolan, Birchgrove
Credit score:Matt Golding
Some years in the past after I was dwelling in western Sydney, I had an accident on my bike on a Saturday afternoon and broke my collarbone and my fibula. I didn’t assume it was critical and a stranger provided to drive me a substantial distance dwelling. That night time, I realised I wanted medical therapy so I went to my native medical centre. I wanted follow-up appointments and the physician who handled me was accessible any time I wished to see him – afternoons, evenings, weekends. I came upon some years later that he was being accused by Medicare of over-servicing. The reality is he was working his behind off and I’m very grateful to docs like him who do put within the lengthy hours to offer service to the general public. I’m treating the claims of rorting with scepticism. Bob Roobottom, Taree
Some individuals appear to assume if we up the Medicare cost to docs the rorting will stop. If a burglar finds $10 on the desk at your entrance door, they don’t choose it up and go away, however, as an alternative go in search of the $20 and the $50. A harsh crackdown and an overhaul of the system is the one method to get Medicare again to its unique objective of offering common healthcare for all Australians. Nick Walker, Suffolk Park
Governments allocate a piece of cash to Medicare and need to resolve how a lot goes to companies and the way a lot to administration. The temptation is to below allocate administration as a result of it’s typically invisible till one thing goes fallacious. Auditing is probably not horny, however for those who course of billions of transactions and belief tens of 1000’s of individuals to do it accurately, it’s crucial. Discovering the stability between admin and buyer funds is at all times going to be difficult. Sadly, whereas we dwell in a world the place rorts can exist, now we have to search out the stability between over-servicing and over-administering. The pendulum must swing. Neville Turbit, Russell Lea
Medical doctors tainted by a tiny minority
The article by Dr Samantha Saling makes a legitimate level (“Bulk of docs aren’t overbilling you for priceless care”, October 19). Medical doctors practice for a few years and quit a lot to acquire even their first qualification. If you wish to transcend that, there are numerous extra years of the identical. A number of docs do it for cash, however I’ve by no means encountered a GP who was not ready to offer time and empathy in addition to ability and expertise, with little regard to the time taken to deal with a affected person.
And people few grasping individuals tarnish the identify of those that present a service to the general public and to the general public purse by treating the particular person earlier than that particular person wants acute care. Nicely performed, Dr Saling and all of your many colleagues with excessive rules as you obtain barely greater than practice drivers (who’ve safe jobs with superannuation). Jennifer Blackman, Wentworthville
Dr Saling is correct. I spent 30 years operating a apply with feminine colleagues and we have been all under- rewarded for the time we put in, not solely with sufferers but in addition explaining issues to and counselling the households of sufferers for whom there was no Medicare rebate. I may recount quite a few anecdotes of sufferers being reluctant to pay a personal payment for care exterior the Medicare schedule but in addition sufferers (typically these least in a position to afford it) providing to pay further as a result of they thought that we weren’t being adequately remunerated by the Medicare rebate. After I defined to the son of a nonagenarian who had had a stroke, that I couldn’t proceed to take care of his mom as a result of she was in an aged care facility at the very least 20 minutes drive from the surgical procedure, he provided to pay an extra sum for every go to to compensate me for the additional time concerned. Now that I’ve retired, I do know that nobody from my earlier apply will tackle new sufferers in aged care services or sufferers requiring common dwelling visits as a result of these companies don’t pay sufficient to justify the time spent. Our society would be the poorer for the lack of conventional household practices to the corporate-owned speedy throughput bulk billing centres, which must see six or extra sufferers per hour to cowl their prices.
Let’s not rush to taint all docs with the faults of a small minority. Dr Anne Hellman, Beecroft
Bureau is the bomb
Nicely, isn’t it nice to see the BoM has time to commit to different issues reasonably than concentrating on its core enterprise of predicting the climate. Why it thinks spending $70,000 of taxpayers’ cash on rebranding itself is a thriller (CBD, October 19). The choices “Bureau of Meteorology” or “The Bureau” are hardly inspiring. The primary is, properly, you already know, their precise identify. The second seems like some clandestine authorities spook organisation. So maybe the BoM ought to simply consider the climate and local weather change, I, for one, will at all times know and consult with it because the BoM, or perhaps even, when I’m feeling adventurous, the BOM. Ross Hudson, Mount Martha (Vic)
Credit score:Nick Moir
Isn’t describing one thing as “the bomb” a praise? Get with the instances, BOM. Simply add a “b” and “be” performed with it. For those who should, add “The” on the entrance. Jenny Mooney, Karuah
English evolution
The English language is consistently altering and evolving (Letters, October 19). New applied sciences supporting every day communication are designed for velocity and brevity. Many textual content messages don’t even embrace phrases, not to mention punctuation. Emails, reasonably than letters and reviews, have develop into the popular technique of every day communication for a lot of. To fail to recognise what number of college students use the English language in much more refined methods than many people perceive or recognise is
a mistake. Rod Leonarder, Roseville
Expertise offers fast messages to all from buddies and for appointments, and so on.
A message acquired may very well be “c u at 12:30 4 lunch”. A solution may very well be “;okay”, or “nfw”. A cheap use of time to offer data between buddies. Bea Hodgson, Gerringong
An exquisite trainer I labored with launched “Sentence-a-Day” to the varsity. Every baby wrote a sentence, in a particular e book, on a given matter, very first thing within the morning. It was invaluable for encouraging writing in a brief burst, creativeness and sentence construction. This additionally doubled as a handwriting train. Marjie Williamson, Blaxland
Sport of sponsorship
Malcolm Knox is right (“Sponsor selection a wicket dilemma”, October 19). The number of sponsors for sport has been contentious for a while. Now that gamers have develop into shifting billboards, mixed with their rising need to align their careers with their beliefs and passions, directors might be compelled to vet potential sponsors extra totally. Nonetheless, in a mirrored image of the broader society, it’s tougher to search out firms and causes that match the aspirations and values of all concerned. Philip Cooney, Wentworth Falls
If we count on our sportspeople to be neighborhood function fashions, beacons of aspiration and leaders for our kids, then they will need to have the collective energy to decide on who they and their staff represents in sponsorship. This does, as Malcolm Knox suggests, open a can of worms for altering staff members and attitudes. After all, if our nationwide groups have been sponsored by taxpayers as our nation’s true representatives, this dilemma can be solved. Janice Creenaune, Austinmer
Love your work
Shock, horror! The Labor Celebration is performing on its election guarantees (“Tempo of labor invoice dismays bosses”, October 19). Natalie Mabbitt, Randwick
The federal government must be applauded for bringing in legal guidelines aimed toward equal pay for equal work. The one query is, why it has taken so lengthy? Michael Blissenden, Dural
On the invoice
If individuals have to be lifeless for 30 years earlier than they function on a banknote (Letters, October 19), why not Elvis for the brand new $5? Or am I being untimely? Doug Walker, Baulkham Hills
I like Roy and H.G. on the entrance aspect of the brand new $5 observe, however can now we have Fatso the Fats-arsed Wombat on the bottom? Steve Cornelius, Brookvale
Dam bluster
The NSW desalination plant broke the drought from the day it was commissioned. The upper Warragamba Dam wall will cease the rain. John Kent, Lindfield
Corny marketing campaign
With that much-loved Australian native, the unicorn, now luring travellers (“Unicorn travels nation to lure worldwide vacationers”, October 19), I’m questioning if Scott Morrison is again at Tourism Australia? James Wall, Sutton Forest
The digital view
On-line remark from one of many tales that attracted essentially the most reader suggestions yesterday on smh.com.au
Labor to introduce IR invoice with pledge to ‘get wages shifting’
From benT: ″With out respectable pay, how do these moguls of Australian business and commerce count on to promote their items and companies to the potential market. What goes round comes round, chaps.″
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