Insurance scheme plan for disabled
The Age
Tuesday November 24, 2009
THE Federal Government is considering introducing a Medicare-style national insurance scheme to provide lifetime medical treatment and care for people with serious disabilities such as brain damage or spinal cord injuries.Prime Minister Kevin Rudd announced last night that the Government would conduct a feasibility study into new ways of funding and delivering long-term care for severely and profoundly disabled people who need daily help with basic activities. The Productivity Commission will be asked to examine a social insurance model €” which could be funded by a levy across the whole population €” to care for those born with severe disabilities and others who become disabled in accidents.Mr Rudd said the inquiry would examine the costs and benefits of replacing the existing system of disability services with a new approach that would provide long-term essential care and support no matter how people acquired their disability."This inquiry is an opportunity to rethink how we support people with disabilities so that they can engage with their community, get a job where possible, and live a happy and meaningful life," he said.The insurance scheme has been pushed by the Parliamentary Secretary for Disabilities, Bill Shorten, who argues that existing arrangements leave large numbers of disabled people and their families without adequate care or medical support.The Australian Institute of Health and Welfare last week estimated there would be 1.5 million people with profound or severe disabilities by next year, increasing to 2.3 million by 2030.Under existing arrangements, state government transport accident and workers compensation schemes provide benefits for people hurt in workplace or motor vehicle accidents, although the scale of the benefits and coverage varies around the country.People who become disabled in other types of accidents have to prove the mishap was caused by negligence to win common-law damages claims, while those with congenital disabilities rely largely on the welfare system."The current system is inadequate. It is a patchwork quilt where crisis decides funding," Mr Shorten said."At the moment, if you have a terrible car accident or a workplace injury, there is reasonable coverage under state compensation schemes, but if you are born with a disability or fall off a roof, you are in a very residual system."We need a sustainable system which isn't crisis-driven and which can be funded according to the needs of the disabled, not according to the cause of their disability."Mr Shorten said the existing system left hundreds of thousands of the disabled and their families and carers in "internal exile"."It's the last practical frontier of civil rights."The Productivity Commission will be asked to report to the Government by July 2011. It will be requested to examine a range of options, including a "no fault" insurance scheme reflecting the risk of becoming disabled across the population.It will also be asked to report on the eligibility criteria and coverage of such a scheme, costs and funding, choice of care providers, the role of existing state schemes and medical indemnity insurance, and governance and administration arrangements.
© 2009 The Age
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