In Australia emergency departments in hospitals are free (covered by Medicare which is funded by a 1.5% levy on income tax) and the waiting time can be long but there is a triage system that gives priority to urgent and critical cases. Hospital treatment can also be covered by Medicare and elective surgery can have a longish waiting list. Critical patients are admitted quickly but may have to be transported by ambulance to a hospital that has appropriate beds available.
However we have a dual system. We can take out private health cover and then the waiting list is shorter because the treating doctor can book you in to a private or public hospital. Some doctors and specialists bulk bill patients under Medicare and others charge a higher fee which can be offset by private health insurance. Even so, there can be a gap payment to find.
Private medical insurance is subsidised by the federal government (currently at 30%) and pharmaceuticals are also heavily subsidised with a safety net that ensures that the chronically ill do not pay too much in any one year.
No-one faces bankruptcy after hospitalisation but the system suffers when governments try to save money by cutting budgets.
I attend a general practice where everything is bulk billed and when necessary I am referred to specialists. My cardiologist also bulk bills. My dentist and optometrist bills are partly covered by private health insurance and there is a gap payment that depends on the dental procedures and the price of the spectacle frames.
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