What is Medicare in Australia?
Medicare is Australia's universal public health insurance system. It gives Australian citizens, permanent residents and some visitors access to free or subsidized medical treatment, hospital care and prescription medicines.
Medicare was introduced in 1984 by the Hawke government, building on an earlier scheme called Medibank, which began in 1975.
Under Medicare, treatment in public hospitals is free. Medicare also pays a rebate for visits to doctors and specialists. If a doctor bulk bills, the patient pays nothing.
How it is funded
Medicare is funded through general taxation and the Medicare levy, an extra tax of two percent of taxable income for most taxpayers. Higher-income earners without private health insurance may pay an additional Medicare levy surcharge.
The Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme, known as the PBS, subsidizes the cost of many prescription medicines.
Many Australians also take out private health insurance to cover services such as private hospital care, dental treatment and physiotherapy. Australia has reciprocal health care agreements with several countries, giving their visitors some access to Medicare.
Australians receive a green Medicare card, which they show when visiting doctors, pharmacies and hospitals.