As you are setting out your immigration plans, one of the things that you are likely to think about is the health care system in Australia. And your concern would be warranted – with rapid population growth in many countries around the world and the limited capacity of the healthcare systems, provision of quality and affordable health care is something that governments and the private sector everywhere have to constantly grapple with.
That said, such concern would quickly be dispelled on the realization that Australia has a well developed health care system. In Australia, the federal and state government actively participate in the direct and indirect provision of care that spans the entire medical spectrum including public hospitals, health care in public schools, research and disease control services.
Government funds are also used in the professional training for healthcare professionals and the provision of financial aid for students pursuing certain fields of medicine. The government is responsible for establishing and regularly reviewing health care policy.
Expenditure on health care currently stands at 9.8 percent of the country’s Gross Domestic Product. Most government funding for healthcare goes to one of three programs – Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme, the Private Health Insurance Rebate and Medicare. The last 2 are effectively subsidy programs that are available for all Australian citizens. Medicare ensures that persons that would want to be treated as public patients receive treatment at public hospitals free of charge.
The Private Health Insurance Rebate is an incentive that seeks to reduce pressure on the Medicare system by encouraging middle and upper class Australian’s to take a private health insurance cover. At the moment, about half of the country’s population has a private health insurance cover. The goal of the public health subsidies and rebates is to make health care affordable for persons across the societal divide.
Medicare services are also available for visitors to Australia from certain countries with which the Australian government has reciprocal arrangements. The countries with a reciprocal arrangement are Sweden, Malta, New Zealand, Norway, Netherlands, Finland, Ireland and the UK. However, the reciprocal arrangements are not homogenous and the specific arrangement with each country may slightly differ.
Visitors from other parts of the world have to organize for private health insurance. Persons on short trips can arrange for insurance through their travel agent before they arrive while those on longer stays (e.g. one year) can apply directly for private insurance once they arrive in the country.
In addition, the Australian government collaborates with other countries as well as with international bodies that work in the medical research and services sphere. Naturally, Australia works most closely with countries in its neighborhood – the Asia Pacific region. Specific countries that Australia has strong ties with in healthcare include Vietnam, Indonesia and China. The country’s Medicare program works closely with the World Health Organization and the World Bank.
Back to the Australian animals overview
References:
http://www.dfat.gov.au/facts/healthcare.html
http://www.medicareaustralia.gov.au/about/whatwedo/health-system/index.jsp
