aus healthcare system Flashcards
medicare
universal healthcare insurance scheme giving all Australians access to healthcare subsidised by the federal government.
what does medicare cover
out-of hospital expenses:
- essential healthcare services
- consultation fees
in-hospital expenses:
- treatment in public hospitals
how is medicare funded
- medicare levy (additional 2% tax on taxpayers)
- medicare levy surcharge (additional 1 to 1.5% tax on PVI users)
- general taxation
what is a schedule fee
amount set by the government for each medical service paid by medicare
what is bulk billing
when the doctor sets the schedule fee as the full payment.
what is the medicare safety net
make sures that people who require frequent services covered by medicare recieve additional financial support
what is the PBS
provides essential medicines to people who need them, by subsidising medicines and making patients pay a co-payment
advantages and disadvantages of medicare
advantages:
- reduced cost of essential healthcare services
- medicare safety net
disadvantages:
- waiting lists
- patient still has to pay the gap
how is the PBS funded
federal government
what is private health insurance
type of insurance in which members pay a premium in return for payment of health-related costs not covered by medicare
how is private health insurance funded
federal government, premiums by users
what is covered by private health insurance
services not covered by medicare such as dentistry, physiotherapy, etc.
how is private health insurance different to medicare?
- users must pay a premium (medicare only charges tax)
- less waiting time (medicare has many more users)
what are the private health insurance incentive schemes?
- private health insurance rebate (policy holders recieve 30% rebate on their premium fee)
- lifetime health cover (people who take up private health insurance after 31 recieve extra 2% premium every year)
- medicare levy surcharge (people earning 90k+ annually pay extra tax if they do not get private health insurance)
- age-based discount (insurers can offer young people a discount of up to 10% for hospital cover)
who qualifies for the ndis?
- aged 65 and under
- australian citizen or permanent visa
- live in australia
- have impairment likely to be permanent
- impairment reduces ability to perform tasks without assistance (either from people, technology or aids)
- impairment impacts social or economic participation
- require ndis support for life
