Australian Health Insurance
As the basis of Australia’s health care system, Medicare covers many health care costs. Private health insurance provides additional cover for some services not covered by Medicare. You can choose whether to have Medicare cover only or a combination of Medicare and private health insurance.
Public patient
Under Medicare, you can be treated as a public patient in a public hospital, at no charge, by a doctor appointed by the hospital. You can choose to be treated as a public patient, even if you are privately insured.
As a public patient, you cannot choose your own doctor and you may not have a choice about when you are admitted to hospital.
Private patient
As a private patient you have the right to choose your own doctor, and decide whether you will go to a public or a private hospital that your doctor attends. You may also have more choice as to when you are admitted to hospital.
If you choose to be treated as a private patient in a hospital (public or private), Medicare will cover you for 75% of the Medicare Benefits Schedule (MBS) fee for associated medical costs.
You will be charged for the remaining 25% of the MBS fee for doctors’ services, plus some or all the costs of:
- hospital accommodation,
- theatre fees,
- intensive care,
- drugs, dressings and other consumables,
- prostheses (surgically implanted),
- diagnostic tests,
- pharmaceuticals, and
- any additional doctor’s fees.
Treatment as a private patient in a private hospital can be very expensive. Private health insurance will cover some or all of these costs.I suggest you check out the costs of this private medical insurance before you arrive in Australia