[GandalfTheGrey]

So according to the recently released by the Commission of Audit, out of the top 4 most costly expenditure programs, 3 of them are health related (medicare benefits, hospitals and the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme).

The Commission has recommended cost savings that in my view, ignore the elephant in the room - such as exposing chemists to competition and a medicare co-payment scheme.

Basically the strategy is to try and make health care more cost-effective, but neglect the long term savings that can be made in preventing people burdening the system in the first place.

We need a massive investment in preventative care and the promotion of healthy living in general. There are so many things we could be doing:

- take on the junk food companies to tackle obesity
- invest in grassroots sport and fitness
- take on the powerful hotel lobbies to tackle destructive alcohol abuse
- provide mental health services at schools

... without even really thinking hard about it.

Also, even when we're dealing with the treatment phase, there are a lot of things to ease the burden on the system: invest in palliative care so people don't have to take up beds in the hospital, give people access to online doctor consultation and other medical services (which is really an investment in the NBN).

[Swagman]

- take on the junk food companies to tackle obesity
- invest in grassroots sport and fitness
- take on the powerful hotel lobbies to tackle destructive alcohol abuse
- provide mental health services at schools

We don't need more great big Nanny State policies. Govt is too big now.

The only way to stop the sky rocketing health costs is for people to start taking responsibility for their own actions and to make them pay their own way. More user paid Government services. The medicare co-payment is a good start.

The Govt is not a meal ticket.