Waking up with the Sunrise television program last Tuesday, I heard co-presenter David Koch proclaim that the Federal Government should just get it over with and take over the nation's public hospital system. Prime Minister Kevin Rudd alluded also, in Channel Seven's Audience with the Prime Minister on October 19, to this possibility by saying he would review how the state and territories performed against his criteria. If they were not up to scratch, he has indicated he would put it to the public vote for the Commonwealth to take control.

But is federal control of the hospitals the great panacea to the ''hospital crisis'' that the Australian people expect?

At the moment, the public's perception, strongly influenced by emotive news stories, is that states (particularly NSW) and territories are money-starved and unable to maintain an efficient hospital system, particularly in small towns and rural areas. Therefore there would, arguably, be overwhelming public support and acceptance for such a transfer of state power and responsibility to a Federal Government which was willing, and seemingly able, to deal with this ''hospital crisis''. But right under our noses, in Tasmania, we have seen the test case for a Commonwealth takeover play out with a less than satisfactory outcome.

The takeover plan of the Mersey hospital by the Howard government in August 2007 was accompanied by images of Mersey's staff welcoming the intervention with open arms. By contrast, there was much criticism of the move from academics and commentators. It was criticised as blatant electioneering in a marginal seat, fiscal recklessness and a threat to the federal structure of government. But what began as a desperate Howard government election tactic has shown what we could expect from a Rudd Government hospital takeover.

The Mersey hospital's initial price was deemed to be $45million, according to the Howard government. Despite warnings from the then Tasmanian government the the price would far exceed this, the $45million price gained currency, with both parties committing to the takeover in the heat of the election campaign in the marginal seat of Braddon.

When Rudd came into office, the annual budget for Mersey was identified as $64million, amounting to $192million over the three-year contract. That amount was equivalent to one-third of the amount the Rudd Government had committed to cutting hospital waiting lists across Australia. Given this simple monetary equation, Health Minister Nicola Roxon announced in March the sale of Mersey Hospital to a private organisation.

Rudd, in contrast to John Howard, is a more managerial than ideological prime minister in his policy approach and style. Therefore when faced with the sheer costs and administrative difficulties of a federal takeover of the hospital system he might be inclined to sell it off to private corporations. Such a decision could have short-term benefits (cutting costs in difficult financial times), but would also have the long-term danger of creating corporate private health-care system.

One only has to look at the United States to see what corporate-controlled health care would look like in Australia. The health-care system in the US is truly in crisis. President-elect Barack Obama campaigned heavily on health issues and indicated he would redress the inequalities and extreme costs of health care in the US. The latest estimates suggest that as many as 50million Americans are uninsured and consequently have little to no access to health care.

The choice for many Americans when they become ill is to either go bankrupt as a result of medical bills or to not access health care at all. The task to reform the system is immense and the Obama administration will no doubt be looking to other nations for a model of health care that could remedy their broken system.

Australia provides the perfect example of a blended private (for those who can afford it) and safety-net public health care. Rudd should portray the Australian health-care system as a leading example for the Obama administration to emulate. A full federal takeover would risk a fully privatised hospital system. Given what the US is facing with health costs and equality, this would be a major step backwards for Australia.