Should America Adopt The Australian Health Care System?

[barryqwalsh]

Medicare is Australia's universal health insurance scheme. Introduced in 1984, its objectives are:

• to make health care affordable for all Australians
• to give all Australians access to health care services with priority according to clinical need, and
• to provide a high quality of care.

Medicare provides access to:

• free treatment as a public (Medicare) patient in a public hospital
• free or subsidised treatment by practitioners such as doctors, including specialists, participating optometrists or dentists (specified services only).

Australia's public hospital system is funded jointly by the Commonwealth, State and Territory Governments and is administered by State or Territory health departments.

The Department of Human Services administers the Medicare program, including enrolments and benefit payments.

Contribution to the health care system is made through taxes and the Medicare levy, which is based on taxable income.


Medicare for providers - Medicare Australia

 

[barryqwalsh]

Medicare levy
Medicare is the scheme that gives Australian residents access to health care. To help fund the scheme, most taxpayers pay a Medicare levy of 2.0% of their taxable income.

Medicare levy surcharge
You may also be liable for Medicare levy surcharge (MLS) in addition to the Medicare levy. Individuals and families on incomes above MLS thresholds, who do not have an appropriate level of private patient hospital cover, pay MLS for any period during the year that they did not have this cover. However, if you are exempt from the Medicare levy, you may not have to pay MLS.

If you become liable for MLS, your MLS rate can either be 1%, 1.25% or 1.5% depending on your income for MLS purposes.

End of attention
If your income for MLS purposes is above the base income threshold the ATO will apply the rate of MLS that corresponds with your income for MLS purposes. If you have a spouse (married or defacto) your combined income for MLS purposes will be used.


Medicare levy Australian Taxation Office

 

[Delta4Embassy]

US should adopt the US active duty military healthcare system - all free. If we're being taxed, seems just as much in the government's best interest to keep us healthy enough to work and pay those taxes as it is to heal or cure a soldier so they can fight.

 

[Conservative65]

US should adopt the US active duty military healthcare system - all free. If we're being taxed, seems just as much in the government's best interest to keep us healthy enough to work and pay those taxes as it is to heal or cure a soldier so they can fight.

Your first problem is thinking it's free. Since you do, anything after that is invalid.

Do you know what taxes would fund the healthcare system you describe?

 

[Conservative65]

What those should do who think another country's healthcare plan is what they want is move there.