Australian Health Care 

taxes are worth it when u see the benefit from them, i want to come live in australia after i’m done studying, and i’m loving it everyday more

I haven't paid for a doctor in... Okay I don't actually remember ever paying for a doctor. I think I paid a dermatologist once. But for a GP, I haven't paid.

When Tone Abet tried to introduce a $3 payment for seeing a GP everyone freaked the fuck out

Agreed mr. Lastname

Lennie Godber I work in a public hospital as an ED RMO. Any patient who hasn't either been sent home or admitted to the main hospital (if necessary) within 4 hours of presenting to triage (i.e. arriving) is considered a FAILURE. The benchmark target for meeting the 4-hour time limit for public hospitals is 80%. Most hospitals meet this target. The majority of the 20% remaining are in the ED for more than 4 hours because it is expected that they will not require a bed overnight, but they are not safe to return home at 4 hours. Get your facts straight. If you don't want to pay $80 for a GP visit, then see a different GP. There are still plenty who bulk-bill. Or get a Healthcare card from your friendly local Centrelink and most will bulk-bill you. Any investigations ordered by GPs can be reimbured by Medicare, including X-rays. You are right about the MRI though. Shortfall that GPs can't order public MRIs. Future room for improvement.

Lennie Godber You're an idiot. Have you been to Australia?

lmfao

It should compare favorably with the US, no doubt.

Cancer has also increased, does this mean the multi-payer system is causing cancer? You have a un-linked premise is my point. I see you are opposed to westconnex, I guess you aren't the brightest individual then. Btw cycling in Sydney is a moronic form of transport, our city is incredibly hilly, only someone ignorant of the layout of their city could possibly believe this is a plausible alternative. Be more critical of the things you accept.

i think the wait time increase is due to the increase in the amount of sick people we have in the country, not due to the multi-payer system. Our aging population would also be a major factor in the waiting lists increasing as we all know with age comes a decrease in health :)

Hi Cameron, I too am an Australian, I work in Healthcare, in comparison to other health systems we have a pretty good system. If you watch the Canada system they have wait times too, but I what is implied is elective and Non-critical is a driving factor to decreasing costs associated in Healthcare, it allows Urgent and Time-Critical surgeries to be done immediately. e.g. time critical Cardiac Bi-pass surgery would be done immediately, a surgeon would be called out of bed and a surgery theater would be opened, vs. Bunion surgery which would be slotted in between surgeries. Yet the multi-payer system has its flaws, as emilypff identified we have an aging population and a lower taxing cohort (i.e. smaller amount of the population which are working and paying taxes), we have to find innovative ways to make our dollar go further.

the biggest problem is the huge number of immigrants we have and the fact that they get top priority last time i went to a GP my appointment was around 30 min late because a bunch of immigrant walk ins came through while i was in the waiting area and got seen before i did (i heard them talking to the receptionist which is how i know they didnt have an appointment) whats the go with that??? they should wait their turn and if its so severe that they think they deserve to jump the queue then they should go to a hospital instead its better than the yanks "no money = death" system but it is incredibly annoying that because im white i have to go behind all the immigrants even if i have an appointment sheduled

Umm, If thet had a child or pregnant that would explain it. Or sometimes, if there is a mental health issue as these tend to be urgent. Been there and gone through what you describe.

Mark W America is the best country the world has ever seen and it's not even close

@@antonioiniguez1615 yelled out dude from across the street

For me it just begs the question...Why can't we have this in the USA?

@@bobprice9541 Because we shouldnt have it

@Kyle Morrison No im right. There has never been a better country than the USA

Because 80% of your fellow countrymen are stupid trump voters. oh and anything not 'merican' with socialist added is considered 'commie' correct?

Because america is money hungry

I thought it's not sustainable in Australia?... so probably won't be sustainable in the US... especially with our immigration issues which Australia naturally does not have. Can you imagine if they put the system into place in the US? This country is so entitled there would be outrage that anybody had to pay 20% or 15% for anything and that they could not get brand name drugs to boot. It sounds like, to get really good care and not wait a long time you still need private insurance so how does this erase socioeconomic inequality in healthcare? It doesn't. It would limit ingenuity which is what drives our care in the US. Our system is broken, No Doubt but putting the government in control of anything, ever, is not a solution. What has our government done well enough that you would trust them with this?

Because someone had the bright ideas of making the health care system like a "business" in America

historymeg83 why the USA doesn’t have it? Well …capitalism

I suspect for anything like a change in the finance, health care, or education systems will require nothing short of a revolution. Why? All the rich people are the ones with the hands up the arses of those puppets in the "theatre show" called federal congress. Whoever had the "brilliant" (note the sarcasm meter just detonated) idea of making health care a "business" should have been taken out the back and shot a long time ago. Thankfully that kind of thinking hasn't been allowed to get any real traction in Australia. The reason why Wall St crashes every two decades is because of the same type of greedy arsehole that makes Gordon Gekko look like a rank amateur. Some American investors whine that Australian markets are too heavily regulated. They have regulations for good reason, and many of those rules are based on ethics. To get finance here, you can't simply just spout some sales pitch. You have to prove you have an ACTUAL means of paying the money back, and/or assets as collateral. Finance brokers are banned from lending money to anyone that can't prove they can pay the money back. Yet the GFC was caused by people essentially making money out of "thin air" and selling debts they knew to be bad. The only way one company in Australia can be "sold" a debt is if a larger company acquires the company with the debtor loan, or if the debtor refinances with someone else

the usa can learn form anyone else

The Australian system sounds like the one Andrew Yang is proposing for the US.

The main thing about Australia's public/universal health care system is that it doesn't matter your employment status. Almost* everyone will get the fundamental health care they need. Every citizen and most migrant/visa/refugee are eligible to enroll in Australia Medicare. www.servicesaustralia.gov.au/individuals/subjects/how-enrol-and-get-started-medicare/enrolling-medicare www.servicesaustralia.gov.au/individuals/subjects/how-enrol-and-get-started-medicare/enrolling-medicare

@Ray Patson We Americans could learns a thing or two from your country.

It is unfortunate that we have these people here. Thanks to them, we pay much more for health care than anyone else in the world.

That's such an odd view to have even if from Americans. Many have studied business and or economics and it's well known certain goods like roads, defence, and health care would be considered as social goods.

Indeed, having roads, bridges, schools, libraries, traffic lights, police is not socialism but that all comes out of our tax so why not universal health care.

​@@u3962521 I think there's a slight difference in the class of goods relating to roads, public lighting, defense, etc. in that these goods are non-excludable. Healthcare, on the other hand, is excludable, meaning people are incentivised to over-use healthcare. This leads to high wait times and poorer quality all around, but of course there are ways to mitigate these problems. Just worth considering properly.

Do you work at westmead?

Some One No, in Vic

the only issue i have with our system is the fact that idiots can go to the ER because they have a cold or flu or because they stubbed their toe (no joke) without penalty there should be a fine for going to the ER when you know dont need to that would improve waiting times and reduce costs one of my friends knows a 000 operator and supposedly someone tried calling an ambulance because he stubbed his toe while grabbing the mail needless to say the operator laughed and hung up if you have a cold or flu, go to a GP (or go to bed) if you cut your finger, put a band aid on it if you stub your toe, harden up the ER is for serious conditions like broken bones, heart attacks, trauma injuries and other *LIFE THREATENING* conditions (rant over)

I recently went to the hospital for a "life-saving" surgery to remove my appendix which was about to burst when i was brought into the emergency hospital. I was in the hospital for 2 weeks had some amount of hours of surgery and I'm sure whatever insane drugs they were giving me to help me not feel anything weren't cheap but guess what? I didn't pay a cent and it makes me feel proud to know i live in one of the best countries in the world.

australia is proof that universal healthcare is the most civilised type of healthcare a few months ago i was in a car accident as a cyclist and got a compound femoral shaft fracture 5 days in hospital, a lot of drugs and $16000 of surgery later: $0 payable by me 3 months of physitherapy (2 of which were inpatient therapy) $0 payable by me in america i would be in hundreds of thousands of dollars of debt most likely its great here in australia

+SecxyBear you are correct top 5 fatties

REX UNKNOWN mexicans are fatter and far more catholic "holy"

+SecxyBear All obese people are fat but not all fat people are obese. A high % of Australians are overweight but that doesn't mean that they're obese.

Sources would be good for the video. Australia has a big obesity problem. 63% of adults (11 million people out of our 20 something million population) are overweight/obese.. 95% of people not getting enough fruit/veg intake each day. Here's a 500 page report on Australia's health.. www.aihw.gov.au/WorkArea/DownloadAsset.aspx?id=60129557188

EssentialPedagogy yh tbh I don't see gigantic people too much, but I guess I often see people who may qualify as over weight

Though for the user, it's fairly straight forward.

Extremely correct. How come he say obesity is extremely low?my god.

@WhoDarestheMAN gamer The UK has lost positions. Not a single ranking put UK first. For many is between 10th and 20th.

Yeah, a few examples and relatable situations would help make the info stick. Healthcare is a very humane and ethical area of politics, so it would be fitting to make the video a little more personal rather than purely informative and "objective".

That being said, I absolutely LOVE this channel!! Whenever there was ebola fear-mongering- appearing on my facebook feed, I would copy-paste the latest ebola video of HCT as a response.

This isn't a college lecture, since they seem to want to keep their videos under 15 minutes. Also, he has a link in the description if you want to read at your own pace: theincidentaleconomist.com/wordpress/?p=59785

Jane makes an appointment with her family's general practitioner (GP) to be treated for Asthma; she pays $75 for her visit and gets a $37.50 rebate from Medicare. She goes to a pharmacy with a prescription for Seratide. Seratide costs $78.65. She pays $36.90. The pharmacy claim the remainder though the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme. Sarah goes to a bulk-bill medical centre for her Asthma prescription renewal. She waits at the doctor for 6 hours before she sees a doctor. The doctor is paid through Medicare and does not charge her. Sarah is also a full time student and therefore has a concession card (an Health Care Card). When she buys her Seratide she pays only $5.90. Mr Roberts also has a concession card (a pensioner's card). He makes an appointment with his local GP. His local doctor bulk bills for pensioners and children, so he pays nothing at the doctor. Because he and his wife are on 5 drugs each, in July they have already paid $360 in co-payments and have passed their threshold. They now pay nothing at the pharmacy for their prescriptions. Lily gets a prescription for an oral contraceptive to treat her acne. It is not covered by the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS), she pays the full price of $68.90 at the pharmacy. As it is for a acne and not contraception her Private Health Insurance rebates her $32.00. Dave has lung cancer. He gets a prescription for Crizotnib. Crizotnib is not covered by PBS or his Private Insurance and so he pays about $90,000/year. John and Mary decide to get private health insurance because they want dental cover and cover for John's glasses which is not provided by Medicare, and also to be prepared as they plan for future medical issues. As a household they earn less than $180,000/year and are under 65 so are eligible for a 30% rebate on their insurance fees. They pay $268.70/month for their insurance. They are also now exempt from the 1.5% Medicare Tax Levy. 2 years later John and Mary's baby is born with a condition that requires surgery. They admit their child as a private patient to avoid the waiting list. The cost of the surgery is the amount set by the Medicare Benefit Schedule plus any 'gap' amount the specialist chooses to charge. As a private patient their private health insurance pays 25% of the MBS fee, the other 75% is paid by Medicare. John and Mary chose a surgeon who does not charge more than the MBS fee and so pay nothing out of pocket. After the surgery the child still requires hearing aids. Suitable hearing aids for their child are not covered by Medicare but are covered by their private health insurance. They shop around and find a some costing $3340. Their Private Health insurance rebates them $1300. Gertrude requires a hip replacement but has no private health insurance. She either goes on a waiting list for a Public Hospital, which may mean she it waiting several years for her surgery or she pays the full amount in what is called 'self insuring'. Chris has been has had poor trouble sleeping and participating in his life. His GP diagnosis him with depression, prescribes him an SSRI and write up a Mental Health Plan and refers him to a psychologist. Because he has a Mental Health Plan he is eligible for a Medicare rebate on 10 sessions with a psychologist. The psychologist charges $180/hour. Medicare gives him a rebate of $98. He is out of pocket $82/session. After two sessions he realises he can't afford that and goes back to his GP and gets a referral to a psychologist who charges only the Medicare rebate amount. Ben goes to the dental surgery for his annual appointment. The surgery charges $68 for the check-up with the dentist and $187 for the clean with the hygienist. None of this is covered by Medicare, but Ben's Private Health insurance rebates him $45 for the check up and $52 for the clean.

Ms X was a poor student and old enough to be independent from her parents who were well-off middle class. Ms X paid nothing to see her GP, paid $5 for any medication, including her contraceptive pill and her anti-depressant. She paid a $20 co-payment to see her psychiatrist twice a month. She paid nothing to see an endocrine specialist. She paid nothing to have a CAT-scan done after she had two months of headaches. She had all her wisdom teeth out under general anesthetic and paid nothing. She went on a waiting list to have her breasts reduced. It turns out she has a hormone imbalance due to PCOS which caused her breasts to grow like Dolly Parton. She was on the waiting list for almost a year. The operation and one week hospital stay in a public-hospital room all to herself was all totally free, as were the follow-up visits as she healed. However she could not get dental checks nor fillings. Luckily her parents could afford to pay the full cost of those. In the mean time, her parents paid a $30 co-pay when they visited the GP. They paid up to $35 co-pay for one month supply of medications, including the pill. Her mother paid $150 co-payment to see HER psychiatrist. Mum's endocrine specialist cost $170 co-pay to see. Once mum had paid a total of $1500 in co-payments within a calendar year, Australian Medicare stepped up and covered almost all the specialists's fees, so the co-payment dropped down to very little, $30 or $17, depending on the specialist. She needed another operation, this time there were four beds in a bigger room in the public hospital. No expense to her. Ms X started earning over $25k a year. She lost her health care card. She started paying $30 to see the same GP, and up to $35 a month for her meds, although some meds were $10 a month co-pay and some were $20. If she needed to see a GP for something minor she could choose to see a random GP for no co-pay. She split her leg open down to the bone in a random night-time accident. She had ambulance insurance of $50 a year, so the ambulance ride was free. The ambulance took 40 excruciating mins to get to her. However she knew that Code 1 patients (like heart attacks) *ought* to be got to with-in 15 minutes and her leg injury was further down the list. The Ambulance paramedics informed her the nearest public hospitals were out of beds, so they were taking her to a private hospital. Medicare covered all of her costs so she paid nothing for her treatment, medications, or any other expenses while she was there for 4 days. She had x-rays in the middle of the night. Under general anesthetic she had 37 stitches and 10 liters of fluid. She woke in a room that was no bigger than her public hospital room, but that was much fancier, with nice paint and carpet, pretty paintings and artificial flowers. It had a shower-ensuite, unlike the public hospital where the toilet was across the corridor. She noticed no difference in her care between the private nurses and doctors and the public ones. The food at the private hospital was *wonderful*. REALLY good. She wished she could eat any of it, but she felt too sick to. The public hospital food was ok, but ran to being a little bit cheap and mushy. Now that Ms X's income was over $25k a year her ongoing medical expenses became significant. She was recommended to Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT), which took 5 hours a day, once a week, for three years. It cost $600 each day of 5 hours. Medicare did not cover any of this. So she took out premium private health insurance which cost her $210 a month. Because her depression was a pre-existing condition, her private insurance would not cover it unless she waited one year. So she went on the waiting list for the DBT program. After a year she started DBT, and her Private insurance covered all of it. Her private insurance also half covered her dental check-ups, most of her dental work, and most of her eye-glass expense. She started going to the dentist and ophthalmologist more regularly for check-ups, because back when she was poor the public system only covered dental surgery, not fillings. It also didn't cover eye-care of the 'my vision is going fuzzy' type. 5 years after starting DBT MsX was virtually free of her mental illness. She spent 3 years in an overall content mood, and dealt with her extremely rare relapses by using skills BBT taught her. Prior to DBT she had occasionally almost committed suicide. Instead of killing herself, she had gone to her nearest public hospital ER and waited in emergency until a Psyche nurse could see her. Her full medical and family history was taken each time, even if it was only six months since the last time. Then she was talked to, and left alone, and monitored until her mood improved and she was sent home, usually within 10 hours. Call this Public Hospital Y. Later, when she had private health insurance, she broke a finger. She was a bit out of it, but took a taxi to Public hospital Y because she forgot she had private health insurance. She didn't feel like she needed an ambulance and didn't call one. She turned up at Y's ER, and they asked her three times while her finger was being checked if she wanted to be treated there. She said yes, and only realized later (DUH! )that they were asking because she had private health insurance. However, the public hospital was obliged to treat her whether she had private health insurance or not. All her treatment for her finger was free, but she paid a co-payment for prescription painkillers to take once the hospital painkillers wore off.

maybe compared to america? otherwise not sure where this came from

I know right, all we hear in the news is how our obesity rates are climbing all the time...

***** Australia's obesity rate is about 4% behind the US.

I think it's because we spend all our time at the beach and running from dangerous animals :p >.>

Dezzles must be that

I second this - even if I am an avid user of the system at all levels...!

Third - I've been hearing so much about the country being the happiest in the world, would like to see what policies have managed to shape this.

Yeah, I found that information conflicted with what I was under the immersion of too, a reference would be great.

yeah it's odd. The link in the description eventually leads here which says that Australia has the second highest levels out of all the countries in the report after the states: www.commonwealthfund.org/~/media/Files/Publications/Fund%20Report/2013/Nov/1717_Thomson_intl_profiles_hlt_care_sys_2013_v2.pdf Just ctrl+f obesity, it's the first result

Concur with this - I was under the impression that obesity was growing in Australia. Auntie reports much higher rates, but definition of "overwight" and "obese" may be blurring the lines a little: www.abc.net.au/news/2014-05-29/australian-obesity-rates-climbing-fastest-in-the-world/5485724

lo

Yes! What that last info card a quote? And if so, from where? I've heard drastically different to it, and am disappointed that this channel only supports their arguments with research when convenient.

it would have not been great , i am an indian and confused where should i go to , i love australia but am really doubtful if i will get a PR there.

@@aashwinkumar2242 if you can get permanent residency in Australia you will be leagues ahead of any average person in India. To have access to Medicare in Australia is truly a lifesaver. It has it faults, particularly with covid around but I found it not only saved my life (promptly) but cost me nothing out of pocket (apart from Medicare levy). It works on a triage system, the more you really need it, the more it works, and works quickly.

@@stevetarrant3898 very truely said brother , I have researched a lot and lot and all I heard that PR/citizenship in Australia is now next to impossible. Can you share your thoughts on this , it’ll be a life changing thing for me .

As much as I’d want to , I have also looked into immigrating to Canada and Australia , but Australia wins in every sense , just concerned about PR there , bcs if thats not possible it’s all vain

Yes the government sits the drug companies down. They have to produce all of their evidence and results for the drug. The Australian Gov then tells the drug company what they will pay for it.

Medicare was Hawke

@@FlyxPat i was 13/14 years old when i wrote this. thanks tho

@@FlyxPat rip hawke

Riley Purcell - lol you’re still around. Nice reply! Kudos to you!

You were right with the Labor Party introducing Medicare to Australia just different Prime Minister.

It was socialism, not communism.

is that relevant?

starbuckwhy Yes. It helps to know what you're actually talking about.

how dose that pedantic correction help to further understanding? if you have a point then make it. or are you JUST being pedantic for pedantic sake?

starbuckwhy The point is that there is a huge difference between socialism vs communism.

Yes

BabyBellaMarie yes but far better

Logic Police yeah but those aren’t statistics, granted I don’t know the source

Matty Arden Not true. We're not even in the top 10. In fact, the USA isn't even in the top 10.

😂 I believe you ..

When you need the lard of the 15 herbs and spices you go to the US. And then pay 4 times as much. In Oz, you get skinless chicken fillets, with avo and coffee thrown in if you are sick. True blue, Ozzies don't know how good they have it compared to the US healthcare debacle.

justin norwood I actually found the United States health care super hard to understand. With this video i think the difficulty is that he is trying to explain everything, in practice it is or feels much easier. that may be because I'm used to it however. They way I use Australian heath care is: medicare for basic things, like scripts or check ups, private for specialists, dental and massage that sort of thing. Medicine is branded or unbranded. My complaint is that contraceptives are not free, in the UK they are. I actually like how medicare makes private insurers more competitive. they have to have robust extras and offerings to compete with medicare in my opinion.