Posts by jb
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Auckland's going to look like the 3rd (or at least 2nd) world city that it really is.
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What he ACTUALLY said was
"I make no apologies of making a few of you a bit wet."
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@ Geoff Simmons
"NZ spends 50% more per head than Germany"
Sorry, but this is wrong.
Actually, figure 15 in the article shows exactly that (in ppp terms for 2000) and was the catalyst for my comment.
I'm not bashing administrators per se.
I do have issues, however, with a system where the "solution" for an error rate of between 8%-10% in prescription fulfillment - my pharmacist went as white as a sheet when asked about this value; she'd be worried if it was anywhere near single digit percentage figures - is to charge the end user a "clarification fee" (Nelson DHB), where a physician categorises a trapped lumbar nerve caused by getting up from a chair awkwardly as an ACC case ("It's cheaper for you that way") despite my having insurance cover, when it takes a pharmacy over 30 minutes to fill the prescription "because we can't find you in the system" and then give me 250 (!!) paracetamols "because it's only a bit more expensive for you than 50"
I'd say that that's symptomatic of a broken system, one in which the NMDBH recently determined that they're performing "too many" discretionary procedures pro rata for their catchment area, so they're stopping doing that and performing the same procedures on patients from other DHBs from which they then derive income.
These are the false incentives that make for inefficient outcomes in terms of dollars spent.
And there must be some explanation for the fact that NZ is 3rd in the 2000 OECD ranking, behind only USA and Canada ahead.
Shome mishtake, shurely?
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@ben.shirmer
Economies of scale certainly play a role. A private (ie consultant's) MRI facility in a catchment area of say 300,000 population runs 6 days a week from 0700 to 2100. It's probably not the only one in the immediate region.
And the next region with a catchment of >300,000 is a 30 minute drive.
One must not forget: you're paying 15% of your salary for health care, with the employer picking up 50% of the tab.
On top of that there's income tax - we pay a marginal rate of over 40%
And pension contribution 10%
And unemployment contribution 1.5%Big bucks
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@ Just thinking
Actually, I do. http://mainzdailyphoto.blogspot.com/2007/10/my-mate-christoph-233.html
I can find out from Christoph if you'd like
PM me via the blog
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Given the disparity between relative health spends between Germany and NZ (NZ spends 50% more per head than Germany), can someone explain to me why health care in NZ isn't significantly better?
In Germany:
There IS no waiting list for an ENT consultant (at least 6 months in Nelson/Marlborough with only 4 specialists for the region, with significant numbers not even accepted on the list), this IS no waiting for a hip replacement (3 months from referral to procedure, including 4 weeks lag for a blood bank donation for own use) , there IS no waiting for cancer treatment after diagnosis, there IS a higher level of preventative medicineAnd
There IS no rationing of medical services.
Whether such a scheme is sustainable in the long-term, with an aging population and exploding pharmaceutical costs (it's not btw) is another discussion, but my experience of both systems leads me to believe that either a) the figures are questionable or b) the system in NZ is being run by incompetents who tolerate an inefficient system where a bureaucracy sucks up huge amounts of funding that should be funneled towards primary and preventative care.
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$20,000 in fines?
$47,000 in fines.Why aren't assets (as written down values) being confiscated or salaries garnisheed once the bill gets to $1000?
There's little difference between this and refusing to pay for a commercial transaction - parking fines are merely the surcharged price for using a scarce good.
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Get hold of Bill Maher's "Religulous"
Same old greasy number, as Ry Cooder so succinctly puts it.. -
I really only want to do it because I've never walked over the harbour bridge
Am I the ONLY person around here to have walked it way back when?
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Assuming I can get TVNZ to stream to me (central Europe, 16 Mbps, no cap, €30/month incl all-you-can-eat national calls), I'd love to see the early 80s "Fell off" ad. Think it was paint, not sure. Delve some more, Damian. This is choice stuff.