that was a very good letter that you wrote. I endorse your comments because I have seen both sides of this system. I live in Australia.( It is not true to say that we have lower costs as some seem to believe. In fact the costs are rising rapidly). Our version of govt sponsored health was introduced in the 1970s. It is a total disaster in my view.

Prior to the introduction of this system, the doctors used to use their discretion about medical fees. If a patient could not afford the fees, then they were written off. The public hospitals also had a system of “user-pays” being the best way to describe what took place. In other words, if you could afford to pay fees based upon your income, then you were charged for the services.

With the intervention of the federal government the whole system that was running so smoothly was turned upside down. It is the govt that determines the schedule fee. What we, the patient gets back would not even be half of what has in fact being paid. We do not have free medicines either. The cost of some medications is capped but the amount is tied to the CPI so that it rises every year. Other medications that cost more than $100 per time are not even on the list of free medications. What we get back from the funds is the difference between the NHS amount and what we actually paid.

The old system of philanthropy is almost dead in this country, although it applies for patients that are born overseas and need urgent medical care – example: the Siamese twins recently separated that came from Bangladesh.