Everyone has an opinion about the health system. We all use it, with varying degrees of frequency, even more so for those who are older. Unsurprisingly, the aged are its biggest consumers.
With trends pointing to an ever-ageing population, the cost of delivering healthcare into the future is rightly exercising the minds of state and federal governments. The recent report by the National Health and Hospitals Reform Commission proposed important reforms, but despite this valiant attempt to re-shape the future, a frank political conversation still seems too difficult.
As Ross Gittins has rightly pointed out, health care costs continue to rise because we are living longer and are expecting access to scientific advances that prolong life and reduce pain. Combined with this, the system is shared between the States, the Commonwealth and the various private providers (hospitals, doctors, insurers) who all have a financial stake. Add to this the health consumer - we want services but are reluctant to pay for them.
Medicare is one of the jewels in the crown of Australia's concept of a 'fair go'. There are few countries in the world where such a large proportion of the population can access health services on such a mass scale. People living in remote and regional communities still face barriers, but anyone who has travelled to a remote Aboriginal outstation in the Northern Territory will appreciate the logistical difficulties of delivering health services into the vast landscape of the outback. This is no excuse for poor services, but distance is a barrier to better services.
The advent of Commonwealth and State Labor governments all serving at the same time represents an historic opportunity for major reform which should not be squandered. Access to health care for all should continue to be a foundational principle underpinning government policy. Voters need to recognise and be prepared to contribute to the costs, either through higher Medicare levies or other means.
As Christians, we should continue advocacy for a health system that is accessible to all. At a deeper level, the health debate offers an opportunity to talk frankly about the reality of death and the fact that no matter how good the system, how elaborate the treatments, and how healthy the patient, we all die in the end.