Nationalized Health Care

[Ice]

No. Leave it in the private sector. Make health care more affordable with incentives (Tax breaks, Deductibles.. etc).

[Papewaio]

Australia has national health care.

You can use private health if you want to. And above certain incomes you have to take out private health insurance or pay more in medicare taxes.

Essentially you go to your local Dr and the bulk billing (government subsidies) pays for the cost of it... unless you choose a Dr who charges extra, in which case you have to cover the difference. Specialists are different, and unless you are on a very low income, only a portion will be covered... sometimes it is better to use medicare then private health insurance to pay the difference.

Have the option of using public or private hospitals. Generally however if there is an issue with pregnancy the women will be sent to the public hospitals... as the government ones are run better for emergencies while the private ones are just better at privacy for recovery. Doctors will often work at both public, private and teaching hospitals.

Also we have pseudo-free university education... but thats another topic.

[gunslinger]

Specialists are different, and unless you are on a very low income, only a portion will be covered... sometimes it is better to use medicare then private health insurance to pay the difference.

I'm a bit unclear on your meaning here. Is medicare something you can purchase from the government that goes above and beyond the standard benefits everyone gets? Also, do you know what percentage of salaries goes toward medical taxes?

[Papewaio]

Medicare is a tax. The Medicare levy is 1.5% of your taxable income. If you have a high taxable income but no private health cover then you pay an extra 1% (for freeloading).

If you are on a low income/pension you pay no levy.

[GoreBag]

I've never heard of an illegal clinic. One of the main problems Canada is having with its health care system is that doctors tend to head south where they can be paid exorbitant amounts of money for their practice, and that the government doesn't recognize immigrant doctors from most countries even though a great number of them could easily be doctors in Canada.

[BDC]

Britain's NHS works ok. It is a big shiny example of why you shouldn't just ignore national health systems for a couple of decades and then wonder why they no longer work properly. Also a big, rather dirty example of why contracting out cleaning to the lowest bidder is thoroughly stupid, unless you enjoy watching otherwise healthy people who go into hospital for something minor die of antibiotic-resistant MRSA and C Difficile.

[sapi]

As pape explained, Australia has a public health system, but it's riddled with problems and only really useful for emergency cases.

Most people would go private if they had a choice - but it's invaluable for those who don't.