The Public Health System in Australia: Are You Eligible?

If you are moving abroad to Australia to live and maybe even take up employment you may be wondering what type of health care system they have in Australia and if you are eligible to receive any health care benefits. Australia does have a national health care system called Medicare. Medicare is administered throughout Australia by the Australian Health Insurance Commission. Eligibility for services under the Australian national health service is primarily based upon resident status although some benefits are issued to workers employed in Australia.Medicare offers eligible recipients in Australia access to free medical treatment in public hospitals. It also offers free or subsidized treatment and services from doctors, specialists, dentists and optometrists. A somewhat unique aspect to Medicare is that is will even cover 75 percent of the cost of any private treatment. That means that your private health insurance will only need to cover 25 percent of the costs.

To be eligible for services under Medicare you will need to be a permanent resident of Australia. There is also some restricted access that is offer to citizens of the countries that Australia has a reciprocal health care agreement with. And if you are working in Australia you are covered by Medicare for injury or illness as a result of an accident at work regardless of your resident status. This is because of compulsory worker's compensation insurance that employers in Australia have.

If you qualify for Medicare your eligibility for services is immediate upon submitting your application. However if you are a new member to the Australian public health system then you will have to wait up to three months to get refunds on services.

For men over the age of 55 and women over the age of 51 that have come to Australia under the family migration scheme and incur medical expenses are the responsibility of their sponsor for a period of 10 years or until they reach retirement age. If you are a foreign retiree and have a temporary residence visa then you are not eligible for Medicare and will have to have private health insurance. However retirees that are permanent residents that do not get social security or veteran's pensions and have a low income can qualify for free health care services. Retirees can also apply for a Commonwealth Seniors Health Card that entitles them to get prescriptions at $4.00 each as well as some other benefits.

The specific expenses that Medicare covers for eligible recipients vary by service and provider. A percentage of set fees is covered and can be found in the Medicare Benefits Schedule. Fees are increased once a year on November 1^st. Typically Medicare pays 85 percent of the fee for outpatient services and 100 percent for inpatient services.