2009年6月4日星期四
Medicare in bad health
Medicare in bad health
Wednesday June 3, 2009, 9:35 am
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Sick Australians are going to have to pay up when Medicare, Australia's free healthcare system, is forced to close its doors.
That time may come sooner than expected.
In an interview, NSW Health director-general Debora Piccone said that "we are really on the edge of losing the universal healthcare system that this country has."
Rising costs and an ageing population have sparked concerns the medicare system could come to an end in just five years.
"I would have (previously) said we'd had 10 years to run. It's now looking like we've got five years to run because the cost escalations are so significant," she said.
State health authorities have revealed we are heading for a US-style user pays system, where insurance premiums exceed $3000 even with employer subsidies.
Under the US system there is no free health care. It is a "for-profit system" in which people only get the treatment they can afford - not the treatment they need. Essentially, your health insurance fund - not doctors - decide what medical treatment will be given.
In the US, where there is no Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme, the cost of routine diabetes, cholesterol and blood-pressure medications is around $1,000 per month.
All of this change is prompting a plan to combine state and federal health funding to take control of hospitals and patient care.
Let us know your thoughts: How badly would you be affected if Medicare was shut down?
Professor Piccone and Health Minister John Della Bosca are now working on a plan to pool all state and federal health funding and have it redistributed by a joint partnership between the two governments.
Mr Della Bosca said the overhaul - the biggest since universal health care was introduced under Gough Whitlam - would deliver "a single mandate" of patient care.
In its first stages the move would address:
The 1000-odd state-run hospital beds occupied by elderly who should be in federally run nursing homes;
Overlap between drugs handed out in state-run hospitals and purchased via the federal PBS;
Revisiting the roles of various state and federally regulated medical staff in rural areas.
The plan would need Canberra's approval, but Mr Della Bosca said he was confident the Rudd Government would respond positively.
Should we have seen this coming?
All the way back in 2001, John Howard promised Medicare would remain, but it would be the Medicare that he and the 2001 Health Minister, Michael Wooldridge, had in mind: a shadow of the universal, bulk-billing, public system.
It seems that their long awaited dreams are finally coming into fruition after all.
http://au.biz.yahoo.com/y7finance_editorial/02062009/medicare_bad_health.html
Wednesday June 3, 2009, 9:35 am
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a.y7sc:hover {cursor: pointer; text-decoration:none;color:#00F;border-bottom: 1px solid #00F;}
a.y7sc:visited {border-bottom: 1px dashed #639;text-decoration:none;color:#333;}
Sick Australians are going to have to pay up when Medicare, Australia's free healthcare system, is forced to close its doors.
That time may come sooner than expected.
In an interview, NSW Health director-general Debora Piccone said that "we are really on the edge of losing the universal healthcare system that this country has."
Rising costs and an ageing population have sparked concerns the medicare system could come to an end in just five years.
"I would have (previously) said we'd had 10 years to run. It's now looking like we've got five years to run because the cost escalations are so significant," she said.
State health authorities have revealed we are heading for a US-style user pays system, where insurance premiums exceed $3000 even with employer subsidies.
Under the US system there is no free health care. It is a "for-profit system" in which people only get the treatment they can afford - not the treatment they need. Essentially, your health insurance fund - not doctors - decide what medical treatment will be given.
In the US, where there is no Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme, the cost of routine diabetes, cholesterol and blood-pressure medications is around $1,000 per month.
All of this change is prompting a plan to combine state and federal health funding to take control of hospitals and patient care.
Let us know your thoughts: How badly would you be affected if Medicare was shut down?
Professor Piccone and Health Minister John Della Bosca are now working on a plan to pool all state and federal health funding and have it redistributed by a joint partnership between the two governments.
Mr Della Bosca said the overhaul - the biggest since universal health care was introduced under Gough Whitlam - would deliver "a single mandate" of patient care.
In its first stages the move would address:
The 1000-odd state-run hospital beds occupied by elderly who should be in federally run nursing homes;
Overlap between drugs handed out in state-run hospitals and purchased via the federal PBS;
Revisiting the roles of various state and federally regulated medical staff in rural areas.
The plan would need Canberra's approval, but Mr Della Bosca said he was confident the Rudd Government would respond positively.
Should we have seen this coming?
All the way back in 2001, John Howard promised Medicare would remain, but it would be the Medicare that he and the 2001 Health Minister, Michael Wooldridge, had in mind: a shadow of the universal, bulk-billing, public system.
It seems that their long awaited dreams are finally coming into fruition after all.
http://au.biz.yahoo.com/y7finance_editorial/02062009/medicare_bad_health.html
英国现183米长巨型水母状麦田怪圈 为全球首例(图) 科技世界
北京时间6月3日消息，据英国《每日邮报》报道，日前，英国牛津郡金斯顿库姆比附近的一个麦田里出现了长约600英尺(约合183米)、僧帽水母形状的“麦田怪圈”，让许多人赞叹不已。专家称，这种图案的麦田怪圈在全球还是首例。 研究麦田怪圈的专家卡伦·亚历山大(Karen Alexander)称：“我们过去曾见过蝴蝶和鸟儿形状的麦田怪圈，水母形状的麦田怪圈在全世界尚属首次。它的大小是多数麦田怪圈的三倍，非常有趣。” 麦田怪圈一直让许多人无比惊讶，它完全是个庞然大物。亚历山大说：“我们正在调查它背后隐藏的含义，但目前还不知道它从哪里冒出来的。” 质疑者称，水母形状的麦田怪圈是牛津郡有人故意为之，目的是从威尔特郡的麦田怪圈收益中分得一杯羹。每年4月到9月的收获季节，神秘的麦田怪圈便会出现，这给当地带来数百万英镑的旅游收入。这个大水母在同威尔特郡350英尺(约合107米)长的阴阳符号形状的麦田怪圈较量中取得完胜。后者上周在德维茨(Devizes)附近一块大麦地出现。
英国出现183米长巨型水母状麦田怪圈 水母形状的麦田怪圈在全世界尚属首次 德维茨也是经常发现麦田怪圈的一个地点。麦田怪圈的形状并不完全都是圆形，与20世纪80年代出现的简单形状相比已有了很大差异。有人认为，神秘的麦田怪圈是艺术家在一大批志愿者的帮助下完成的杰作，但麦田怪圈爱好者不这样认为，他们说夏天夜晚较短，人们根本无法在悄无声息的情况下完成如此复杂的作品
http://user.qzone.qq.com/776820/blog/1244024255
2009年3月13日星期五
熊猫吃穷美国动物园, 看看大熊猫如何折腾
据说在远古时期，熊猫本身是食肉的，后来因为气候变化了，很多大型哺乳动物都死亡了，熊猫无肉可吃，只能被迫适应环境转而改吃竹子。可见熊猫的生存能力还是很强的。其实熊猫现在的消化系统还是适合吃肉的，并不适合消化植物，所以才要吃那么多的竹子，有人把鸽子和熊猫放在一起，熊猫还会像熊一样蹑手蹑脚过去捕食。可自从成了国宝之后，又憨又笨的熊猫，整起人来可有一套。中国外租的熊猫是很贵的，一只一般100万美圆一年，比如租给美国的熊猫，伦伦、洋洋以及幼崽美兰，每年租金就是200万美元，这还不包括幼崽美兰。美国佐治亚州的亚特兰大市民太喜爱熊猫了，就是被熊猫折腾也兴奋无比。再看看伦伦一家的表现吧：睡在毛织的吊床上，给来观赏的游客一个懒洋洋的表情，不高兴了就回空调房内，不理睬人。绝对大牌的模样。伦伦洋洋吃东西都很挑嘴，动物园雇了5个人来伺候它们，这还不包括每天去割竹子的工人。据《纽约时报》说，受雇的4个人每天跑上万里的路给熊猫收集竹子。伦伦它们还不是每种竹子都吃的，弄来的竹子，不是一个花园种的，它们都能鉴别出来，从而决定吃还是不吃。这往往让收集竹子的工人很尴尬，明明抱了一大堆竹子来，却会被挑出一批不合口胃的，一口不吃。如果拿别的食物去哄它们，在准备的200多种食物中，它们往往最多只肯吃20来种。而且吃几天就再不肯多吃一口，要求换口味。每只熊猫一天可吃掉50多公斤竹子，很快，动物园的竹子就不够吃了。他们便动员当地的1000家住户提供竹子。而爱熊猫成痴的当 地市民，则心甘情愿地去种竹子。竹子品种要求严格，要去老叶黄叶，不能种在污染的水旁边，收割时，不能用机动锯子，只能用手动锯子，以防被污染。 仅一年时间，花在熊猫日常起居的开支就超过了50万美元，就这他们还没把伦伦，洋洋伺候高兴。 再看看这次卧龙抢救出来的大熊猫吧。一天十小时的进食，摄入10-18公斤左右的竹子及竹叶，看看进食量已经比在美国待的熊猫少了3-5倍，在没有竹子吃时，它们乖乖地跟着饲养员吃粥，受到惊吓过后，变得十分粘人，常常紧紧抓住饲养员的衣服不肯放手。这时的熊猫哪还是什么大牌，往日嚣张的模样变得可怜兮兮，让人无限心疼。 Mitbbs.com中国养了那么多只熊猫，还没听说被熊猫吃穷的。伦伦，洋洋已经让亚特兰大动物园的财政不堪重负了。 Mitbbs.com看来不是自己的孩子就是不好养啊。明明被熊猫耍了，还要无限迁就它们。其实熊猫和人一样，知道对方稀罕自己，才会尽情的去折腾。总之就是这样，谁先稀罕谁，谁就先被谁折腾。除了熊猫，还不知道有哪种动物这么会折腾人。
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