$9.50
I just made an online payment of $9.50 to cover a bill for painkillers, which represents the total out of pocket cost I incurred as a public health patient for a 36 hour hospital stay this week.
A stay which included x-rays, CT scans of my brain and spine, dressing of my skinned knees, hip and elbow, and a couple of other treatments I don’t remember (amnesia after a bike crash was why I was in there).
After I was finished in the ED, I was given my own single room on the ward and was cared for impeccably by specialist trauma doctors, amazing nurses and hospital volunteers.
I love you, Australian universal health care.
(Oh, and wear your helmets, kids. Mine is now being retired from duty after this week’s crash.)
