Can anyone from Australia explain me what is medicare and what does it cover?

Question

why do u have to get another private health insurance when you have a medicare card with you?

Answer 1

Medicare is our public health system, it allows free access to many g.p's , some specialists and the public hospital system, the drawback being that you cant choose your specialist doctor and may have to go on a waiting list forsome non urgent surgery. private health insurance, whilst it usually doesnt cover all the costs, enables you to choose the specialist doctor of your choice and access private hospitals which rarely have waiting lists, so you can decide when you need surgery and the like. medicare also doesnt cover 'extras' like dental, chiropractic, optical etc and you have the option of taking out private health insurance to assist with the costs of these types of expenses