9 posts tagged “health”

As the US rages over its health care debate, I was inspired by some of the threads on Vox on the subject, in particular the comparison between the US and Australia. The best people to ask in comparing the two would, logically, be those who have experienced both.
   I Googled the term Americans living in Australia health care. None of these show Australia in a totally perfect light, which is what one expects. But on the health care issue, they make some interesting observations. I have skipped sites that are too brochure-like, which formed the majority in the above search.
   The first page that was relevant was this one, stating, inter alia:

They write, “Social democratic migrants focus on attributes of the United States associated with its weak welfare system, inadequate health care violence, and general conservative social and economic structures.” (Note: Health care costs in Australia are only 8% of GDP and everyone is covered. In the U.S., they amount to 15% of GDP and many remain uncovered.)
   Americans who see the U.S. as a society in decline, leaning toward socialism, come to Australia for its safer, drug-free environment. However, they object to Australia’s strong centralized government which they see as being intrusive. They find that Australia has high taxes, strong unions and generous welfare system, also that crime is on the increase.

   The second to give some comparison quoted CNN and linked this video:

   Sadly, after 100 entries I could not find a personal account comparing the systems. So I tried a different term, “American living in Australia” health care blog.
   This was a little more successful. First up was this blog which solicited this comment:

As an [A]merican living in Australia for the last 10 years, with our universal health care coverage (a combination of public and private if you want it), I have been horrified by the stories of my aging parents dealing with healthcare in [A]merica. My mom pays hundreds of dollars for medications she would get here for pennies, and even though she has medicare, she still needs to get approval for alternative therapies her doctor wants to recommend—but never gets the approval because her supplemental insurance company doesn't want to pay.
   I think it’s a little too easy for the young and/or never seriously ill to think that because they’ve never experienced a problem that everything must be ok. If only they would stop and ask: what if it was your mom, or your uncle or your neice [sic] or nephew. Would you care then?
   I am shocked at people I consider friends, who I thought would be intelligent, informed and considered, getting sucked in by the media frenzy. I am horrified at how my parents struggle with healthcare, and I am ashamed of the country of my birth.
   Healthcare is not a traditional good or service. You can’t shop around—when you need it, you need it or you die. Any country that ignores this is simply barbaric.

   I also saw another comment from an American expatriate at this blog:

I am an American living in Australia in my fifties. We have medicare here for all ages so we get universal health care. We can also go private too if we want to. I use the public system right now due to immigrating. It is a great system and I am so happy we are lucky to have universal health care.

   The next was a forum:

As a American living in Australia, and now a Australian Citizen, it is a great place to live. If you are willing to work, there are plenty of good paying jobs. The free medical system is good as well. As long as you are healthy and well off.

   The fourth featured a comment from 2007, long before the most recent debate, with some typos:

I’m an American living in Australia since the mid 70s where we have a good public system which runs for under 10% of GDP. The interesting thing is that we also have a private system of insurance and private hospitals that allows ready access to elective surgery (you have heard about waiting lists in public systems? ) and choice of doctor. I have a heart condition that is controllable with medication and the public system isn’t going to operate on me when there are plenty of people who’s lives depend on bypass surgery. Fine with me. For ideological reasons they have a hard time being blunt about that sort of thing, but as a blunt socialist doctor friend says—‘it’s a bottomless pit—you could spend 150% of GDP and there would still be things you could do.” I like knowing that if I fall over or get run over I will get carted off to hospital and not have to worry about a bill—I already paid it with the separate Australian Medicare tax levy which is how it should be in my opinion. I also like having access to the private system if my doctor and I decide that a particular treatment is the best thing to do. I think eventually countries will end up with universal safety net level health care (that happens informally in the US anyhow.) and a private system on top. Medically I don’t want to be dependent on either the Cuban or the US system. I think ideology is a positive hindrance when it comes to medical systems and that is why I am happy to pay twice for an apparently irrational and wasteful system like we have in Australia. They are actually complementary and each saves the other from its worst features.

That was just from the first results’ page.
  As I have only been a tourist in both countries, I can make no comment from personal experience. The above excerpts have not been edited further in terms of content. For those arguing their merits, I would give some consideration to what people who have experienced both systems have to say.

I’m not the only one who thinks cellphones are hazardous to your health. Spotted outside Foodtown in Takapuna:

A few months ago I posted cellphone pics from my trip to Spa Horrobin & Hodge. Here are some more, plus my story that ran in Lucire last month.

A recent study suggests that radiation from cellphones may cause cancer; what, if any, cellphone usage precautions will you take in light of this information?
Submitted by Tim.

Duh. Everyone knows cellphones cause cancer. Ignoring that simple fact is like folks in the 1940s saying that smoking was good for you.
   Therefore, I have never carried one. OK, let me rephrase that: I carry one when I travel. I never have it in my trouser pocket and whenever possible, I leave it behind or put it in a laptop bag. It is for my use to get around expensive hotel calling. It is not a toy or a gadget which one plays with. It is a tool, pure and simple.
   Before August 2006 I never carried one at all—but then Telstra put a 75¢ surcharge on calls made with their calling card. I was courting someone then who used one so it was there to aid the cause of romance.
   The consequence is that Telstra lost a lot of business from me because of that surcharge.
   The number of men I have heard of, or know, who have had testicular cancer has skyrocketed since cells became mainstream.
   When I was on Good Morning I used to say that I would not carry a cellphone because I did not want my testicles to be irradiated. I would still like to have kids some day and a cellphone is not helpful.

A couple of weeks ago, I had the privilege of visiting the Horrobin & Hodge spa in Manakau, north of Levin, for a future issue of Lucire. These are just random shots; the real 35 mm and digital ones will appear online and in print in due course. You can get great spa treatments there with products from Hema and other top-end lines, and I was pampered with a massage. A big thank-you to Sarah and Jacquie for making me feel so welcome, for an amazing lunch (meat from the farm next door and vegetables grown on site) and for letting me sleep on the day room couch when I was in sublime relaxation!
   Basically you are looking at world-class treatment but country-style hospitality—which makes the hour’s drive from Wellington well worth it.
   The first four shots are from the day room, both inside and the views toward the west and north.

   The reception is way cool: the lights are 110 ml milk bottles in a crate, acknowledging the rural heritage of the site. The old-fashioned telephone is actually push-button and not rotary, but it looks great alongside the Dell computer screen.    And, nearing sunset, one last shot before driving back to Wellington.

 
My friend and distant relative May Yan contributed to this new book on Chinese cuisine, called Eating Stories: a Chinese Canadian and Aboriginal Potluck. It’s important for those of us in the diaspora not to lose some of our good eating habits and knowledge about traditional cuisine, and to be able to pass them on to the next generation. The way May described this book, it’s the sort of thing that I would regard as vital for my own well-being!

Ceji has some great tips about eating and weight, and I thought it was very no-nonsense. Although she discusses them in the context of a gastric bypass, I can see it having relevance to me, and many others.

The BBC has an unusually good piece on what Richard Hammond’s brain could have been through in his car accident. Like most medical types, it ignores the power of prayer, good wishes and karma, but what do I know?

[Cross-posted] We have to wade into the whole obesity debate on Good Morning. One of the quotes we have in our briefing is from the TVNZ site: ‘For example, we pay around $38 million in health insurance claims each year for elective surgery or treatment of heart disease and yet the incidence of heart disease for most New Zealanders is highly preventable.’
   I imagine I could quote from an earlier post on the issue, and see if the conversation goes toward corporate social responsibility. However, I have been asked to keep the stories personal—pretty hard, considering I have not eaten at McDonald’s since Sundance 2004 (thanks to Mr Spurlock’s story in Super Size Me).
   It is something I need to think about some day. My late mother was careful with my diet, though McDonald’s was permitted during my teen years. However, my high school had a PE programme, so the food went into muscle, most likely. I ate a prepared lunch on most days in my high school years, and you could not buy a lot of today’s junk food at school. We saved money this way as well. And I stayed lean.
   These days, I hear of families on welfare giving their kids money to buy junk food. It’s parental thinking that needs to change for the sake of New Zealand’s young people; and for those of us who are older, we need to make time to get the exercise we need.
   Thoughts are very welcome—I may check comments before I go on air in the morning.