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Opinion: Australians remain deeply sceptical about the value of private healthcare – it’s time for radical reform

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Submitted ⁨⁨1⁩ ⁨week⁩ ago⁩ by ⁨davriellelouna@lemm.ee⁩ to ⁨australia@aussie.zone⁩

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2025/may/28/healthscope-australians-remain-deeply-sceptical-about-the-value-of-private-healthcare-its-time-for-radical-reform

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Comments

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  • Zagorath@aussie.zone ⁨1⁩ ⁨week⁩ ago

    What we need to to dump the government extortion that is the Medicare Levy Surcharge and the Lifetime Health Cover loading scam.

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    • jonne@infosec.pub ⁨1⁩ ⁨week⁩ ago

      Yep, exactly this. Force everyone to use Medicare so there’s no political incentive to gut it instead of a two tiered system.

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    • DarkDarkHouse@lemmy.sdf.org ⁨1⁩ ⁨week⁩ ago

      It seems they are designed to funnel you into the arms of corporations. I’ve read that enough youth are just taking the surcharge and loading on the chin that insurers have started to worry. I’m seriously considering it–the value for money of private insurance is not great.

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      • sqgl@beehaw.org ⁨1⁩ ⁨week⁩ ago

        I can’t believe that it took me until now to realise that the Medicare levy is just an insurance premium except with a government insurer.

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      • Mountaineer@aussie.zone ⁨6⁩ ⁨days⁩ ago

        I’ve read that enough youth are just taking the surcharge and loading on the chin that insurers have started to worry.

        I’m not young, but I’m doing this.
        My tiny ideological stand.

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    • Taleya@aussie.zone ⁨1⁩ ⁨week⁩ ago

      And then ban health insurers from using the public healthcare network.

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    • shirro@aussie.zone ⁨6⁩ ⁨days⁩ ago

      It doesn’t feel like an exaggeration to call it extortion either.

      If you maintain the cheapest qualifying policy you are almost guaranteed to be paying for something of such little value that you will never choose to use it. Nobody benefits other than health insurance hareholders.

      One of a large number of social, economic and environmental injustices that the ALP should fix but will not. They have the numbers. It’s a rare opportunity.

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      • Zagorath@aussie.zone ⁨6⁩ ⁨days⁩ ago

        Precisely. Now is precisely the time for Labor to do some bold progressive changes. Like fixing this extortion. Like dental and mental health into Medicare.

        But I’m not holding my breath.

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  • Joshi@aussie.zone ⁨1⁩ ⁨week⁩ ago

    It’s kind of like providing a highly expensive, and logistically complex service requiring recruitment and retention of highly skilled professionals to provide an essential service to people who can’t possibly pay for it is not suited to privatization.

    20/20 hindsight I guess :/

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