• Joshi@aussie.zone
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    1 day ago

    Yes, obviously medicare would need to increase the rebate and private insurance fees would necessarily increase(as they would now be actually paying for care rather than acting a a gatekeeping mechanism)

    Rebate for a short consult with a specialist is $81.55, a long consult is $236.65.

    The title professor indicates that they hold a teaching position and says nothing about their clinical skill. Plenty of specialists take the piss and leverage the title to charge ridiculous fees.

    In my experience as a GP a reasonable standard fee for a specialist is around $300 with $80 back from Medicare. So yes the Medicare rebate would need to increase substantially but I doubt more than we will save when AUKUS falls through. It is within the capacity of a government with the right priorities. Also increasing the availability of public specialists would be a good companion policy.

    • makingStuffForFun@lemmy.ml
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      1 day ago

      All we need to do is tax the miners, and put the money toward healthcare, and whatever else we want with the money left over.

    • ryannathans@aussie.zone
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      22 hours ago

      Would be great if they put it down as a long consult, I was there for quite a while with three “fellows” each checking me too. I was referred to a leading university clinic from a specialist ($$$ again) but I am sure there are plenty of profs or similar gouging because of an academic title

      • Joshi@aussie.zone
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        21 hours ago

        To be clear most professors are senior in their field and usually indicates research as well as teaching, I was in a cantankerous mood this morning. But regardless Medicare needs to take access to specialist treatment seriously.