Hospital visit

[t_c_da]

Further to recent comments in tatjna's journal about medical costs, and what the TPPA negotiations are threatening to do to Pharmac in New Zealand, I'd just like to record my experince last Monday evening

Comments

[tatjna]

I am glad to hear you're ok, and also glad you live in New Zealand instead of having to sell your house to pay medical bills.

[t_c_da]

Thanks! Gettin' better all the time, as the song goes...

[ehintz]

Gospel brother. Hallelujah.

Tho, I heard a nasty rumor at the fire station last night. WFA are apparently regularly going way over budget (to the tune of 4mil), and said rumor is that St John's are going to seriously underbid them and we'll lose WFA. Which sucks, as St Johns do invoice out a fair bit for their services. But, at least the doc visit is still free even if this comes to pass. And given your condition description it may have been ok to just jump in the car and drive to the ER so you could potentially avoid the St Johns tax.

[t_c_da]

So the St Johns folk are going to go all capitalist on us, under cut the bid for money and then cut service because they can't afford it? Or charge the customers for what was a free service??

I'm liking tatjna take on withdrawing consent even more...

Thanks for the good wishes, though!

[ehintz]

Well, it's all rumors, so take it with a grain of salt. But St Johns are a territorial lot, with a rather keen public relations arm...

[mel_redcap]

Yay for you being all right, yay for cheap/free medical care, and bollocks to changing the system! :P

[t_c_da]

Indeed! The aussie system was pretty good before I left in 1974 and I can't comment on what it's like now...

Thanks for the response! Look after them purty kitties (it's a bit far to ship them to .nz and we're not looing for a replacement for our aging ginger tom yet!)...

[jamjar_girl]

The U.S. want to impose their system on N.Z.? Yikes!
Your medical system sounds similar to Australia's, and I thank God for it regularly.

I'm glad your health scare was nothing dire. Take care.

[t_c_da]

Care being taken! I'll wander back to work next week after the clocks go forward and it's dark at get-up-time again.

I suspect that USCorp would like to get it's grubby paws on your systems as well - look up TPPA...

[skellington1]

I'm glad you're alright -- and no, you don't want our system!

Though some of us would be glad to have yours.

[t_c_da]

I gather some would like our political system too. It takes usually about a week to implement the results of an election, and there are strict limits on election spending, with even stricter limits on anonymous donations.

Thanks for the reply...