src/content/how_bureaucratic_systems_interact_to_create_bad_outcomes.md

@@ -15,7 +15,7 @@ The three systems in question are private and public health, the ATO and superan
 
 This blog post is accompanied by emails to the respective Ministers and my local representative. It is the last attempt to have someone actually listen, rather than send canned emails that treat me like a child who did not do any prior research. Yes, Jacqualine Myint, I am referring to the response to my previous enquiry which completely missed the point that I had already outlined how the systems were interacting.
 
-I would like to note that Ali France, my local MP, has reached out to me to ask for my story to assist with her work in the House of Representatives Standing Committee on Health, Aged Care and Disability on improving access to specialty doctors. If that committee work is something that matters to you, they are accepting submissions at the Department of Health and Aged Care consultation page on specialist affordability and access. You can see it [here.](https://www.health.gov.au/our-work/consultation-on-specialist-affordability-and-access?language=en). It's a step in the right direction to at least shining light on the problem but I won't hold my breath for any concrete outcomes.
+I would like to note that Ali France, my local MP, has reached out to me to ask for my story to assist with her work in the House of Representatives Standing Committee on Health, Aged Care and Disability on improving access to specialty doctors. If that committee work is something that matters to you, they are accepting submissions at the Department of Health and Aged Care consultation page on specialist affordability and access. You can see it [here.](https://www.health.gov.au/our-work/consultation-on-specialist-affordability-and-access?language=en). It's a step in the right direction to at least shine a light on the problem but I won't hold my breath for any concrete outcomes.
 
 To work through this, I am going to put together a timeline. I have also uploaded copies of the relevant correspondence so that you can read just how condescending our bureaucracy can be. This post has three sections. The first covers the timeline of the initial event and the health care received. The second covers the timeline of the tax event and its fallout. The third is an analysis of how the three systems interact to create a terrible outcome.
 
@@ -77,7 +77,7 @@ It is clear from the timeline that the compassionate release of superannuation i
 
 ### The Letters
 
-Read together, the three letters in the appendix paint a clear picture. The Treasurer's office confirms the design of the system. Early release is taxable, it counts as income for income tested payments, and the Government has no current plans to change that. The Health Minister's office confirms that gap cover is voluntary, that informed financial consent is the main consumer protection mechanism, and that the Government's principal response is an upgrade to a website. The local member's office acknowledges the problem, points to a committee inquiry, and stops there, at the very least they admit it needs fixing and are trying to work through it.
+Read together, the three letters in the appendix paint a clear picture. The Treasurer's office confirms the design of the system. Early release is taxable, it counts as income for income tested payments, and the Government has no current plans to change that. The Health Minister's office confirms that gap cover is voluntary, that informed financial consent is the main consumer protection mechanism, and that the Government's principal response is an upgrade to a website. The local member's office acknowledges the problem, points to a committee inquiry, and stops there. At the very least they admit it needs fixing and are trying to work through it.
 
 Not one of those letters engages with the central point of my correspondence, which is that the three systems interact in a way that punishes the behaviour the policy is supposed to encourage. The policy says: if you cannot afford essential medical treatment, you can access your superannuation. The tax system says: that access is taxable income. The Human Services system says: that taxable income will now reduce your Child Care Subsidy. The health system says: that is not our problem, talk to the insurer. The insurer says: that is not our problem, the doctor did not use gap cover. The doctor says: that is not our problem, gap cover does not cover our costs. So nothing is anyone's problem, and the family pays the difference.
 
@@ -89,7 +89,7 @@ It is worth saying, for the avoidance of doubt, that none of the people I dealt
 
 There is also a wider question here about the cost of making private care the only timely option. The official wait time we were quoted was twelve to twenty four months for the initial specialist appointment alone, before any surgery. In a young person, that delay is not neutral. It changes the kind of injury from a recoverable one to a chronic one, it lengthens the period of disability, it reduces the chance of return to sport, and it increases the lifetime cost of treatment. If the policy design of the compassionate release system is meant to relieve pressure on the public system by allowing families to go private, then the policy design of the tax and welfare systems is undermining that intent in the year that follows.
 
-In the end, I should have just gotten a personal loan. It would have cost me less than the tax and lost benefits combined. It is incredibally disappointing that this is the case in "World Class Public Health System™"
+In the end, I should have just gotten a personal loan. It would have cost me less than the tax and lost benefits combined. It is disappointing that this is the case in our "World Class Public Health System™"
 
 ### Where this leaves us