Tuesday, March 15, 2005

Public Patients in Public Hospitals are SUPPOSED to be FREE

Some Links about supposed FREE Health cover in Australia.

http://www.dfat.gov.au/facts/health_care.html

Under Medicare, all permanent Australian residents are entitled to free public hospital care when choosing to be public patients. Doctors who are appointed by the hospitals provide their medical treatment. State and Territory governments provide public hospital services and work closely with the federal government and professional bodies to ensure that quality of care and appropriate standards are maintained. Australians may elect to be treated as private patients in public hospitals or to use private hospitals. In the private sector, patients can choose to pay directly for medical costs or use private health insurance.

http://www.lawhandbook.sa.gov.au/index_article.asp?id=5180#medicare

Medicare and private health insurance

Australia has two health insurance regimes: Medicare, and private health insurance.
Medicare is a taxpayer-funded health cover scheme that gives all permanent residents a basic level of health insurance. It provides:

access to free treatment as a public patient in a public hospital
a rebate on the medical costs of being a private patient in a public or private hospital (75% of the recommended schedule fee)
a rebate on fees charged by GPs, specialists and optometrists (85% of the schedule fee)
subsidised prescription medications purchased from pharmacies.

http://www.accc.gov.au/content/index.phtml/itemId/532439/fromItemId/532404#h2_59

Patients should be given accurate details of the fees and any additional costs they are likely to incur. Whenever possible, recognising that this may not always be feasible or appropriate in emergency situations, information on costs should be provided before treatment begins to enable patients to give informed financial consent. This should include not only fees, but also all other likely charges and costs, such as specialist charges and rehabilitation costs.

anti-competitive conduct
conduct prohibited by Part IV of the Act (or the competition codes of the states), specifically agreements between competitors (including professionals) to inhibit other competitors, fix prices and divide customers between them—Part IV also prohibits the misuse of market power, exclusive dealing, resale price maintenance and anti-competitive mergers and acquisitions

http://www.health.gov.au/internet/wcms/publishing.nsf/Content/health-ahca-sooph-where_public.htm

If you choose to be treated as a public patient, you will receive, free of charge, all your medical care from doctors nominated by the hospital, and allied health and pharmaceutical care. Accommodation, meals and other health services will also be free while you are in hospital.

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