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A NEW NATIONAL HEALTH SERVICE BASED ON A DEFERRED CONTRIBUTION SYSTEM
Author(s) -
Evans D. J.
Publication year - 1969
Publication title -
medical journal of australia
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.904
H-Index - 131
eISSN - 1326-5377
pISSN - 0025-729X
DOI - 10.5694/j.1326-5377.1969.tb107321.x
Subject(s) - payment , poverty , debt , actuarial science , service (business) , business , medical expenses , commonwealth , test (biology) , public economics , public administration , economics , finance , political science , medicine , economic growth , law , medical emergency , marketing , paleontology , biology
A deferred contribution system combines the liberties of private practice with the security of universal health insurance. It replaces the honorary system with payment of medical officers in our public hospitals, where the means test is no longer necessary for admission to standard beds. It offers a solution to the problems of the pensioner medical services, and raises pensioners to an equal footing with other patients. It allows concessions for poverty and chronic Ill health. The Commonwealth retains a regulatory control of the cost of the National Health Service by adjustment of the formulas for the deferred contributions. Taxes are higher but contributions are less. There are no more bad debts and practice expenses are less. Administrative costs are high but should be less than under voluntary health insurance. In the midst of our present changes of policy, the deferred contribution system is a radical alternative with many advantages. It could not be implemented quickly, and requires further study by experts in each field. Early impressions are that it would be widely accepted.