Some body told me that everybody is eligible for medicare and it is not a heath insurance. They just provide consutancy services, so do i have to do a medical insurance seperately?
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If you have a permanent visa, you are eligible to join Medicare and you have been misinformed about what Medicare covers. Medicare pays for 100% of all services in public hospitals and cover is available for all conditions from the date of your arrival in Australia. For GP, specialist, pathology and diagnostic services outside a public hospital, Medicare sets a 'scheduled fee' for every type of service and will refund you 85% of that scheduled fee. Some doctors etc 'bulk bill' i.e. they charge only the rebate amount so if you consult them, there will be no co-payment. Most however charge either the scheduled fee or higher (that is up to the practitioner) and you must pay the difference between the rebate amount and the actual charge. For a normal doctor visit, that will usually be around $20 - $30. Safety nets are in place and when a single person (or a whole family) reaches a certain total of out of pocket expenses in a calendar year, the amount of rebate rises - the first step is to 100% of the scheduled fee and the next step will return nearly all of the amount charged, whatever it may be. It doesn't matter how many people are in the family, the total is the same as for an individual and the first safety net threshhold is quite low, so people with a few kids or a condition requiring regular treatment, can reach it quite early in each calendar year. Urgent cases are generally treated quickly in public hospitals, but for any kind of elective treatment (and there is a pretty broad definition of 'elective'), there are usually long waiting lists. Cancer treatment, broken bones, heart conditions and life threatening conditions are non-elective and will be treated quickly but something like orthopedic surgery (e.g. knee or hip replacements) is considered to be elective and there could be a wait of a year or even longer for public hospital treatment. If you are prepared to wait until public hospital treatment is available, you don't need any private hospital insurance. If you want to be able to access elective hospital treatment without waiting in a long queue, private hospital insurance is worthwhile - I have it and wouldn't be without it but the majority of people don't have private insurance and never feel the need for it. Medicare pays for a portion of the private hospital charge and also provides a 30% subsidy on premiums, so premiums are (IMO), reasonable and nothing like as expensive as in other countries. Medicare doesn't cover dental, optical, physio, podiatry or other similar services. Private 'extras' cover is available for dental, optical, physio and other treatment not covered by Medicare. Note that it is NOT possible, (such cover would be illegal) to cover the 'gap' between the Medicare rebate and the amount charged for out of hospital medical services. Private health insurers in Australia are required by law to accept everyone who wishes to take out cover with them, regardless of their medical or claims history and they must charge everyone the same premium for the same level of cover. For pre-existing conditions, there is usually a waiting period before a claim can be made e.g. you can't claim for pregnancy related expenses for 9 or 12 months after joining the fund (there is no waiting period for Medicare benefits).
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