Health Care In NZ and Oz

[BBF]

Chappers:
There are several posts regarding the HC proposals put fwd by the present US Admin. involving a possible "takeover" from private insuance.
Since the US lawmakers are on vaction and back in their hometowns they have gotten an earful from their constituents on a whole bunch of stuff,mostly their HC proposals that are being considered.
 I presume you have universal HC in Oz and NZ.

Ed. I've split this topic because it's not really related to Chapper's original thread. kombi1976

[kombi1976]

But what do the initials HC stand for? 

[BBF]

sorry:  Health Care

[kombi1976]

Geez, ummm, bit hard to answer that one.
We have a federally funded health care subsidy system called Medicare that everyone pays a levy for in their tax.
You get roughly $37 back from a $50 doctor visit and medication is also subsidised.
My wife has had all 4 of our kids in a public hospital and we paid nothing......the govt footed the bill for the lot.
More to the point the care was wonderful and the staff professional.
There are waiting lists for elective surgery (although some elective surgery is less "elective" and more "necessary") but if you really are sick and need immediate care it's all there.
Ambulances aren't turned away if people can't pay but then that's never happened here.
Certainly the various state govts mismanage the system at times and the NSW State Govt are terrible but the services are always there.
Everytime someone goes on about people who cheat the system we all have a good look at what happens outside Australia and remember that while our system is far from perfect at least you can go through life without private health care and get proper care.
The others will have other opinions I'm sure but the welfare and health care systems here are good, at least in comparison to overseas.

[BBF]

Thanks,
I'm glad you split this up, we( Canada) have something similar and I read mostly condemnations and tales of horror here on what we get from people that don't even live here. We have room for improvement, just like yours.
 What the USA will get if anything remains to be seen.

[kombi1976]

It's hard to determine exactly what US citizens get or don't get but my impression is very little if they don't have some kind of health care plan.
Perhaps our US friends can fill us in a bit better.
I've also been wondering how you Canucks go in terms of cars.
How hard is it to register vehicles in Canada i.e. inspections, modifications, etc?
And how nasty is insurance?
We have a range of different insurers here and if you pick the right one you can really get a good deal, so long as you aren't a male under 25 with a performance car.
But hey no surprises there.
Conversely the US companies seem to be "bare minimum payout and screw you" if someone runs into you.
I could be wrong but it seems the only way to get a fair deal is with a really good lawyer.

[BBF]

Kombi:
There are no problems with vehicle registration as long as it is approved from the Motor Vehicle Depts in the various Provinces and met Fed standards with emission, lights, mufflers, seatbelts and the usual safety stuff. I do know larger 2 stroke engines are out because of pollution.

I am not into hot rodding anything but performane equipment is available.

Re Insurance" Depends on the Province. British Columbia has a Crown Corp. that does both the Registration/Title/Plates and the minimum Insurance requirement. Private Co can top this up. There are no discounts for multiple vehicles in one family. Rates depend on geographical location,  usage( pleasure, business, work) age and gender of driver and yearly distance driven. Moving violations will carry a fine and will raise your insurance costs. Two speeding tickets or similar will hit you in the pocket real good and it takes several years to reduce the points that you get with each ticket.

Other Provinces like mine seperate the Motor Vehicle Dept from Insuance which is 100% private. You shop for the best deal.  Those Co. look at usage, age and number of drivers, distance driven, location, age and type of vehicle and of course any prior claims.

 My wife and I( no young drivers) have a 2008  pick/up  full insured for pleasure driving at approx 25,000 km per year. We have no damage claims and no moving violations for a very long time.    Approx cost Can$ 60 per month.
Inspections vary by Province. Some are for pollution only, others are for the mechanical condition. Nova Scotia requires a mechanical inspection every year, cost is $25

[kombi1976]

How tough are they on rust in Canada or doesn't it matter so long as a vehicle stops, goes, has working lights and indicators and doesn't blow tons of smoke?
Do you know if they're less tough on older, vintage and veteran cars?

[BBF]

As long as the equipment you mentioned works, it should be fine. There are special plates avilable for vintage cars that may not have all of the required items. We have Highways that require a minimum speed and those vintage vehicles may not meet that.

Rust is not an item that would make you flunk the inspection. A fender that is flapping in the wind probably would.