Obama’s victory on health care reform may have fallen short of expectations, but it remains a triumph for ordinary Americans who have been dogged by a health system more concerned with profit than with service.
The strange thing, from a New Zealand perspective, is why so many Americans opposed the reforms. It was obvious that the health system was not only hugely expensive and inefficient but also left an estimated 47 million Americans without any health care.
It seems many Americans were confused about the issues. That confusion was deliberately cultivated by powerful lobby groups for the private companies who had a huge financial interest in the privatisation of public service delivery. Opponents slated what they called “socialised medicine” and claimed universal health care would violate states’ rights.
There are lessons here for New Zealand. Organisations will spend up large to influence political debate and public opinion in their favour, especially when there are large potential profits to be made. In New Zealand the public sector is frequently denigrated as “bloated” and “inefficient”. Evidence is never provided to back up these claims,
but if you say it often enough the public will start to believe it. The aim quite clearly is to pave the way for the privatisation of our public services such as health and ACC.
We need real debate on our public services not attempts to sow confusion by those with a strong vested interest in their demise.
June 3, 2010 at 10:39 am |
Agree Richard. While there are more efficient ways of delivering Health Services these tend to lie in the community that is being served rather than in profit making business’. The community agencies can most times get better engagement with the harder to reach people which is why the Union and Community Health Services have had such success in reaching these people, however the community agency at times needs the full service to make the whole process more normal for the community and financially viable for the community agency.
Kia Kaha Ake Ake Ake