Why is Medicare not included dentists? It’s time to change this -here is a way

In the 1970s, when the pioneer of Medicare was established, dental treatment was excluded. Australians still have the results after half a century.

The patient pays much more dental treatment costs than other types of treatment.

more Australians delay or skip dental treatment because of their cost than most of the rich colleagues in most wealthy countries.

And as our dental health worsens, fees continue to increase.

For decades, many reports and inquiries have demanded universal dental reports to solve this problem.

Now with green proposal It and labor bag venture backup Can it be time to finally put your mouth in Medicare?

What do you block us?

Australian Dental Association Say Ideas are so ambitious and too expensive that more dental workers will be needed. They say that the government should start small, focusing at the beginning, the most vulnerable population in the early days.

It is reasonable to start small, but finishing small is a mistake.

Dental costs are not a problem for the most vulnerable people or the elderly. more 2 million Australians avoid dental treatment because of their cost.

more 4 out of 10 Adults usually wait more than a year before they meet dentists.

To bring a dentist to Medicare requires thousands of new dental workers. But if you have a plan, it will be possible Step by step More than 10 years.

The real reason why Dental is not added to Medicare is because it costs billions of dollars. The federal government does not have that kind of money.

Australia has a structural budget problem. We are relatively Low -income countries with high service expectations.

The increase in medical costs is the main contribution, and there are hospitals and medical benefits among the six major payments that grow the fastest.

The structural gap is dedicated It is highly likely to grow Without major policy changes.

If so, can we all afford health care? We can do it. But we must have a hard choice for wise choices and profits for dental treatment and to reduce spending elsewhere.

A wise choice for new dental plans

The first step is to repeat the mistake of Medicare.

Medicare payment for private projects was not attracted to many of the most needed communities. Many rural areas and disadvantaged areas are bulk billing deserts with too few GPs.

There are more poorest areas Twice Psychological pain in the richest areas is about half of the mental health services supported by Medicare.

As a result, government funds will not make the biggest difference.

There is medicine 80,000 Visit the hospital for dental problems that can be avoided by dental treatment. If the oral health is the worst disadvantage and too much attention to the rural community, the number will still increase.

Therefore, a significant share of new investment should be quarantined for public dental services, which are targeted for areas where people have not been treated.

Another problem with Medicare is that payments are often related to the cost of treatment or treatment on the health of the patient.

To lower the cost, Medicare funds for dental treatment must exclude cosmetic treatment and orthodontic correction. Dental assistants and therapists should be based on an efficient manpower model that uses all technologies. You don’t always have to see a dentist.

funds model Considering the patient’s demands, providing continuous treatment, cap In spending per patient.

Oral health must be measured and recorded so that patients and taxpayers can get results.

Tough choice to balance the budget

This stage is difficult to estimate and estimate GREENS’s planning costs $ 20 billion 1 year when the stage proceeds. Instead, the cost will drop roughly. $ 7 billion 1 year.

It will be a good investment. But if you are worried about where the money comes from, there is a good way to pay.

Many reforms can reduce the government’s health budget without harming the patient.

There are waste in government funding pathology Test and Less cost efficiency approximately.

There are some hospitals Excessive cost Potentially Low value management.

Invest in the long term prevention You can reduce the demand for health care. no way Taxes on sugar drinksFor example, we will raise your health by raising hundreds of millions of dollars a year.

Such measures will help the government to pay more dental care. But the demand for health care will continue to increase because it is expensive and expensive. New treatment arrive.

This means that a wider strategy is needed to balance the budget, to increase medical demand, and to achieve three goals to bring the dentist to Medicare.

There is no easy solution, but there are many options that reduce expenditures and increase profits without harming economic growth.

Australia’s infrastructure and defense residency topic selection More wisely You can save billions of dollars every year.

Special GST funding contract in western Australia- explanation Economist SAUL ESLAKE will be asked for something else in the 21st century. $ 5 billion 1 year.

Reduced income tax loss and tax -minimity, including re -signing pension tax concessions, reducing capital gains tax discounts, and setting minimal taxes for trust distribution, and minimizing taxes on trust distribution. $ 20 billion 1 year.

Such major tax reforms provide economic benefits and create a space for better services, such as the scope of universal dental application.

No one likes spending cuts and tax hikes, but soon sooner or later it will be necessary soon. The scope of dental application may have to accept this sweetener taxpayer.