Healthcare Crisis Causing Families to Suffer
The new Abbott Government faces a minefield when it comes to health care and health reform. The election is finally behind us and the Abbott led Liberal Government now have a clear mandate to execute the changes they prosecuted whilst in opposition. Of all the focal points, Healthcare reform stands alone as the one of the crucial arrears that is in need of attention.
AMA President, Dr Steve Hambleton said “…Health reform must be resuscitated urgently or Australians will find it more and more difficult to get access to quality affordable health care – where and when they need it…” (Sourced by AMA, July 17th 2013 https://ama.com.au/media/ama-releases-health-policy-platform-0 )
The election is upon us and one of the key issues on the table is affordable and accessible healthcare. With an aging population and the cost of healthcare increasing, cash strapped governments will need to make a choice to either continue servicing healthcare costs, cut healthcare spending or somehow make efficiency within the system to deliver more cost effective outcomes.
It’s a constant balancing act for governments to fund adequate healthcare and Medicare is buckling under the strain. If the system is to survive, things have to change. The days where Medicare entirely covered the cost of health treatments are over as Medicare rebates fail to keep up with inflation and the cost of treatments.
Families are being forced to sell assets and draw down from their superannuation funds to pay their medical bills.
In some extreme cases, people are facing bankruptcy as a result of finding themselves indebted through no fault of their own.
The popular belief is that the majority of bankrupts is bad people that rack up debts knowing that they can’t afford the repayments, only to leave their creditors in the lurch. The reality however is quite the opposite. The truth is most people want to pay their debts and the majority of people that go bankrupt do so as a result of misfortune more than misdeed.
The real frightening thing is that most people are an unexpected event away facing bankruptcy themselves.
Grant O’Donnell is the founder and CEO of Debt Fix one of Australia’s largest Debt Consolidation Companies “…We see a lot of this, ordinary hard-working Australians just living their lives and going about their business until one day something big happens that changes their financial position…”
He went on to say. “….More often than not, the instinctive thing for debtor’s to do is apply for a loan to refinance the medical debt, however the introduction of new comprehensive credit reporting laws will make this difficult for many as late payments made five or more days can now be recorded on the credit file….”
It’s commonly known that credit providers consider a number of factors when assessing a finance application; however it’s your credit reputation which stands as one of the most influential pieces of information to determine the outcome of any application.
As a result of such unfortunate and unavoidable situations that find people indebted with few financial options, these are potentially compounded by the burden of dealing with an ongoing medical condition, resulting in mounting stress and anxiety which in turn adversely impacts recovery. In such circumstances, debtor’s find themselves either forcing to sell assets or drawing down from their Superannuation.
Even though Australia is not a third world nation, for many it may as well be for the situation they find themselves in. Ordinary, hardworking Australians who dutifully pay their taxes now find themselves struggling to make ends meet due to burgeoning, unforeseen medical debts and increased living costs. Naturally they feel despondent and resentful of their situation, and fatigued by their situation many fall to bankruptcy for relief.
For these proud people who once prided themselves on their ability to pay their own way and contribute positively to society, bankruptcy represents a shameful and embarrassing conclusion. For these debtors, declaring bankruptcy after contending with their illness is like adding insult to injury and it’s this feeling that overshadows any benefit that bankruptcy may provide for a lot of people.
A possible solution to this problem could exist in the Part IX Debt Agreement Scheme which exists within the Bankruptcy Act as an alternative to Bankruptcy. The Debt Agreement Scheme was introduced to assist those debtors struggling to make ends meet, who can’t refinance their debts and who have few assets (which can’t be sold) to pay creditors. Through the program, debtors can make an affordable and sustainable offer to settle their debts over a relatively short period of time as opposed to walking away from their debts (as would likely be the case otherwise).
Mr O’Donnell says “…The debt agreement program presents an opportunity for debtors to seek relief within a highly regulated framework as an alternative to bankruptcy. Whilst it’s not a one size fits all solution, it does allow debtor’s to make good on their debts and settle them on their own terms. Creditors too benefit because they receive a return that would otherwise not be available and so the scheme is an incredibly positive for the individual, their creditors and the economy as a whole…”
According to Center of Independent Studies (CIS) report on April 30th 2013 by Jeremy Sammut with data sourced from AIHW, Health Expenditure Australia, ( Source: Canberra: AIHW, 2012, Table 3.3, 24 http://www.cis.org.au/images/stories/target30/t30.03-snapshot.pdf) , The Government spends approximately 9.3% of GDP on national healthcare, an increase of approximately 80% over the last 10 years, signalling a dire warning for the future unless something is done to address the problem.
For more information about personal debt and the solutions which may be available, Grant O’Donnell says: “…you should only speak to a certified professional, in this way you can rest assured that the advice you receive will be quality advice…”
For more information about Debt Solutions, consider contacting Debt Fix on 1300 332 834
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Category: Health
