what is the health care in australia like and how much does it cost?

Answer 1

I'm not sure I'm adding any more to this. But every citizen and permanent resident has access to medicare which pays for public hospital treatment and some of the cost to go to a GP (unless they bulk bill, which means they pay for all of it). In order to do this, everyone pays a medicare levy which is 1.5% of their income. If they earn over $50, 000 (or $100, 000 or more for families) they pay an extra 1% as a surchage unless they have private hospital cover. If you have private health insurance, you are able to go to Private hospitals and, depending on your policy, are covered to an extent. Go to www.privatehealth.gov.au to check for prices of these. Many people do this as public hospitals can have long waiting periods and you can choose your doctor.

Answer 2

Everyone is covered ny Medicare and you get free treatment in public hospitals and from any GP who bulk bills. You can get private health insurance and if you earn more than $50,000 a year you should do so to avoid paying the Medicare surcharge. I have lived happily and healthily for 60 years and do not have health insurance as I don't need it. My out-of-pocket medical expenses are less than I would pay for health insurance.

To get an idea of the current rates of health insurance, Google Medibank Private.

Answer 3

we have Medicare - if you are entitled to it. (all citizens are) and i think we have recipricol agreements with some other countries.

emergency treatment is free in a public hospital - however if you need surgery and it's not urgent and you want it done for free, you go on a waiting list.

as far as doctors are concerned, yes they are free if (IF) they bulk bill you. hardly any doctors bulk bill anymore. essentially, what usually happens now is that you pay the doctors visit in FULL and then you can claim part of the cost of the visit from the government. ie bill = $50, you pay it all, then you can claim about $30 back from government, so you are out of pocket $20. it all depends how greedy the doctor is as to how much they charge.

dental is not free.

Answer 4

G'day,

Just a bit of additional info from Tentofield's answer. Every citizen and Permanent Resident got access to Medibank. Medibank is provided for free, since the fund was taken when we do our tax return at the end of financial year.

To check and compare the private health insurance plans, please refer to the links below.

Hope this helps. Welcome to Australia :)