Should the Australian Government privatise Medibank Private?
Since the 1990s the Commonwealth and State governments of Australia has privatised a sizeable portion of the public sector (Reserve Bank of Australia 1997). The prospect of privatising Medibank has been a controversial matter since its proposal by the Howard government in 2006, although the former government failed to do so, the Abott government announced on March 26th, 2014 that the company will be sold off through an initial public offering (IPO) in the 2014-15 financial year (Mcllroy 2014). This essay will argue that Medibank Private should be privatised and sold publicly through an IPO for short and long term economic and social benefits. In order to determine the
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Therefore, it could be argued that the sale would not only raise money for the government but will also help to strengthen the health insurance market as a whole.
The capital raised from the sale of Medibank through the IPO could be used for further social and economic projects. Finance Minister Cormann refrained from stating a value of the insurer but went on to state that the government wants to invest the money raised from the IPO in infrastructure, details of the exact plans will be seen when the budget is revealed on 13 May 2013 (Griffiths 2014). Sloan (2014) writes that based on current multiples and the evaluation done by the Howard government it is projected that 4 billion to 6 billion dollars could be raised and redeployed to generate greater social benefits including funding for new infrastructure. He goes on to write that the privatisation would make the company more productive and the tax the government would receive from the privatised company would increase substantially (Sloan 2014). This argument is supported by King (2003) who noted that privatisation raised over 100 billion dollars for the government since 1990 (King 2002). Given that the government’s debt is forecasted to reach 400 billion dollars within 4 year, this sale would help pay down a part of it (Durkin 2014).
The main argument by the people opposing the sale is that privatisation would increase the premium of Medibank. At this point it is important to examine the
In 1928, a national health insurance scheme was proposed but not implemented because it would have required businesses to provide contributions to health insurance for their employees (Evolution of Government Involvement in Health Care, n.d). Another national health insurance scheme was proposed in 1938 but it was also rejected (Evolution of Government Involvement in Health Care, n.d; Hilless & Healy, 2001). The next proposal was the 1945 Pharmaceuticals Benefits Act. This Act was not implemented because the Australian Medical Association challenged it in the High Court of Australia and it was decided that parliament had “exceeded its constitutional power” (Hilless & Healy, 2001). In 1946, under the Hospital Benefits Act, the Commonwealth began to subsidise public hospitals under the condition that patients would not be charged (Evolution of Government Involvement in Health Care, n.d; Hilless & Healy, 2001). This act is similar to the current Medicare system.
The following paper is based on the differences between two healthcare systems in two different countries, these systems are the Australian healthcare system which is Medicare, and England’s National health system which is known as the NHS.
The Australian health care system is a highly functioning and accessible system based on universal principles of access and equity. In this essay I will discuss the historical evolution and current structure of our health system, identifying current health service models of delivery and look at its strengths, weaknesses, policies and health priorities currently in Australia. I will discuss the roles of government and non-government health services in service provision and funding sources of Australian health. We will get a better insight of the role of standards for residential aged care and look into a broad range of professions that consumers may engage with in health service delivery, their roles and functions of each profession.
The NHS has grown to become the world’s largest publicly funded health service system since 1948(Nhs.uk, 2015).There are many issues and disputes in NHS. Nowadays,some people believe that the NHS should be abolished or privatized,because it can solve many issues with NHS.This essay agree that the NHS should not be abolished or privatized.
As the Prime Minister of Australia, it is my duty to present my democratic nation with their elected desires. The current issue is concerning the movement of Australia’s governing system from a constitutional monarchy to a republic. I believe that Australia should become a republic, as our sunburnt country has overtime developed culturally and democratically since 1901 when we become the Commonwealth of Australia, and started living under the ruling of Queen Elizabeth the Second. We have created a place that is in no way similar to the British Empire. As Australians we respect and acknowledge the traditional owners of our land, the Aborigines. Over time, it seems as though we have taken this country out of their hands and handed it to the
Although the financial constraint was one of the initial triggers that made government to move toward privatization of health care, the argument of those who oppose to privatization remains at the prediction of future damages to the health care system caused by the privatization, not about the resolution of financial crisis. (Barkun, 2008; CBC, 2006; CNA, 2013; Deber, 2013; McDonald & McIntyre, 2014; ONA,
This essay discusses the history and inception of the Australian Healthcare system, how it is funded through the Government and the public income. How and where healthcare is delivered and its effectiveness, including issues and priorities according to current healthcare policies and national standards.
By understanding the two opposing systems regarding health care, I believe that the Canadian health-care system should in fact be privatized. Despite the fact that the public health-care system is a great way of providing medical care to everyone, I believe that I am not receiving the best health-care that I could be receiving in other countries. Another reason why I favor privatized health care over publicized is because of what progressive taxation imposes among individuals who have a higher salary, they are taxed at a higher rate, due to the fact that they possess a larger amount taxable than those who do not make enough. I believe that hard working, successful individuals should be able to take advantage of their accomplishments, therefore
All people across the globe are entitled to the health attention they require. The World Health Organization has identified five elements to achieve this goal. These include reducing social disparities in health, providing services that meet clients’ expectations, altering public policies to address health, leadership reforms and increasing stakeholder participation (WHO, 2013).
Cost curbing measures and reductions in health insurance costs for many Americans due to subsidies help to insure tens of millions by expanding coverage options. This expansion could potentially result in an overall net decrease of the deficit by driving health care costs down over time.
The marginal analysis in relation to health care economics is a way of thinking about the optimal allocation of resources and making decisions at “the margin” (Henderson, 2015). Self-interest relates to economic decision makers’ personal interest that affects the decisions they make (Henderson, 2015). The markets and pricing concept is used to efficiently allocate the resources that are considered scarce (Henderson, 2015). The supply and demand concept is used as a tool in performing economic analysis (Henderson, 2015). Competition creates an environment where resource owners are forced to use their resources to promote the highest possible satisfaction of society (Henderson, 2015). Efficiency is used to measure how well resources are being used to promote social welfare (Henderson, 2015). Market failure is when the free market fails to promote the efficient use of resources (Henderson, 2015). Comparative advantage explores people benefit from the voluntary exchange when production decisions are based on opportunity cost (Henderson,
From 1991 going forward, the health care environment again experienced fundamental changes as a result of the deregulation of hospitals which according to Ingols and Brem (as cited in Swayne, Duncan, and Ginter, 2006) was occurring for the first time in a decade. According to the authors, the impact of the move was immediate. Following the deregulation, the financial viability of most hospitals was
The investment requested is £12 million. Strategic and operating benefits were summarized in our previous memo to you. We have made, however, some changes to our investment analyses, which appear below.
Another discerning factor of the healthcare industry found in the case analysis is that per capita expenditure on health is increasing, but still the cost of healthcare is much lower compared to other countries. Genicon will need to enter the market this market with a pricing strategy of market penetration. The structure of the healthcare industry comprises of both public and private sector, which entails that the investments of Genicon will be much safer since it will have access to two alternative markets. One possible drawback of entering Brazilian market is the high degree of regulation of the market by government. Regulators have imposed limitations on price increases of
Community: Community would not agree with the sale of the hospital because once it was sold, consumers will be hurt. Community wants as many kinds of health service exist as possible. But if the hospital was sold, some healthcare would be cancelled due to no profit. Right now, the hospital is the only local provider of the mental healthcare. If such service was cut off, consumer in this area would have no access to get the mental healthcare. The consequence could be quite serious. Moreover, without the hospital, there would be only one local hospital left. It could monopolize the whole health service in this area. It could raise the service price as it wants. Consumers, especially poor people would suffer a lot in such cases. Therefore, community will provide all reasons to disagree with this proposal.