Healthcare Systems Vs. Australian Healthcare System

The Australian health care system is not a very complicated one, it is solely based on two main sectors which are the ‘public’ and ‘private’. The public sector allows one to claim health care benefits and payments through the universal health coverage developed by the Australian government, called Medicare. Medicare is completely free and paid by the government through income tax received to help pay for medical, optical and hospital care (Humanservicesgovau, 2016). It also has a sub-division called the ‘Medicare safety net’ which is more so given to those on significantly low incomes to aid in financial distress. Similarly, the private sector is made up of different companies entitling different benefits, usually consisting of two plans, ‘hospital’ and ‘generic’ (Privatehealthgovau, 2016). The private health care system is more so for people who need immediate attention as the public health system has a waiting list for many different types of operations. Private health system is also customisable in circumstances such as

The Australian healthcare system has been evolving since the beginning of the colonisation of Australia. Today, Australia has an extremely efficient healthcare system although it still has several issues. The influencing factors, structure, and current issues of the Australian healthcare system will be throughly discussed and explained in this essay.

The healthcare system in Australia is complex involving many funders and healthcare providers. In 2011 to 2012 the health expenditure in Australia was estimated to have been $140.2 billion, which made up 9.5 percent of gross domestic product in that year (AIHW, 2013). Responsibilities are split between different levels of government, and between the government and non-government sectors. With non-government sources funding for about 30 percent of the total health expenditure each year (AIHW, 2013). Australians make their contribution to their healthcare system through taxes, including the Medicare levy, and through private financing such as private health insurance. Private health insurance in Australia is a voluntary facility for private funding of hospital care and ancillaries. Insurance funds may cover the costs of treatment for private patients in private or public hospitals and can include some services that Medicare does not cover. The Australian governments fund for almost 70 percent of the health expenditure each year (AIHW, 2013). The federal government contributes to approximately two-thirds, while State, Territory and local governments together contribute for the other one-third (AIWH, 2013). As a generalization the Australian government is primarily responsible for the funding of healthcare, through health insurance arrangements and direct payments to the state and territories, while state and territories are primarily responsible

The Australian health care system is a highly functioning and accessible system based on universal principles of access and equity. In this essay I will discuss the historical evolution and current structure of our health system, identifying current health service models of delivery and look at its strengths, weaknesses, policies and health priorities currently in Australia. I will discuss the roles of government and non-government health services in service provision and funding sources of Australian health. We will get a better insight of the role of standards for residential aged care and look into a broad range of professions that consumers may engage with in health service delivery, their roles and functions of each profession.

In contrast to the United States, Great Britain has a health care system that is focused on the delivery of health care as a human right. Because of this model health insurance is universal for all citizens allowing everyone to have access to care. According to Sick Around the World produced by Jon Palfreman (2008), Great Britain runs a system that allows their people to never receive medical bills. Instead, Great Britain has implemented a national health system where the government runs and regulates the delivery of health care (Shi & Singh, 2013, p. 20). They have universal coverage where all citizens have access to health care under the national health system (Thorlby & Arora, 2016, p. 49). People living in Great Britain can also choose to pay for their own private insurance but only a small number of people select to do so.

The Canadian healthcare system was first established in the late 1940’s and is made up of socialized health insurance plans that provide coverage to every Canadian citizen. Publicly funded and managed, rules are set forth by the federal government. In the 1960’s, Canada in essence, has had universal healthcare coverage for all services provided by physicians and hospitals. Change your source ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Health_care_in_Canada 2014) Whereas, the healthcare system in America originated in the 1800’s, but truly wasn’t established until the late 1920’s. Healthcare in America was initially for teachers for a low cost in Dallas Texas by Justin Kimball. Change you source (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/) Healthcare in the United States is mostly privately funded with only a few publicly funded entities such as Medicare and Medicaid. The Canadian and U.S. healthcare system s have been under a lot of scrutiny over the years, being the topic of every political conversation. In this essay, I will write about the main differences between the U.S and Canadian Health-care system, and help shed some light on how each system works. The main points I will be discussing are the wait times to see a primary care physician, the funding of each countries health care system, accessibility to medical care and the quality of care.

The country that I pick to compare to the U.S. healthcare system is Great Britain.

About one third of all hospital beds in Australia are provided by Private Hospitals. Although half of all Australians have private health insurance, the Government is seeking to achieve an even higher balance of Australians with private cover, while preserving Medicare as the universal safety net. An example of how the private system works is; if a private patient was admitted to either a private or public hospital, they would have a choice of doctor to treat them. Medicare would pay 75% of the Medicare

Medicare is the publicly funded health care system for everyone in Australia. It exists side-by side with private health care system.

al., 2011). Health service accessibility by individuals in rural and remote areas is a problem central to both countries. Reports indicate that compared with metropolitan populations, non-metropolitan populations, in both Australia and the UK, experience poor access to health services (Watt, Franks, Sheldon, 1994, p. 16). As in the primary care sector of the UK, majority of the doctors in Australia are self-employed and reimbursed on a fee-for-service approach (Gillies, 2003, p. 77). GP’s are the initial point of contact for patients in both Australia and the UK. Additional specialist medical services such as physiotherapy and optometry are only available when patients are provided with a formal referral from their GPs (Piterman, Koritsas, 2005). Although the NHS is similar to the Australian health system in certain ways, both systems also possess some differences.

In this paper, there will be a comparative analysis to the United States (U.S.) healthcare system and Canadians healthcare system highlighting the advantages and disadvantages of both.

Neighboring countries, United States and Canada have close ties to one another, share the same language and have many of the same fundamental and religious beliefs. It is an interesting debt as to which provides a superior healthcare system. In order to better understand the strengths and weakness of the two systems, this paper will review four important structural and functional elements of each system.

Medicare is facing a fiscal crisis that threatens its sustainability. The need for significant Medicare reform is increasingly urgent as 76 million baby boomers are expected to retire over the next two decade. According to the 201 Medicare Trustees Report, the Hospital Insurance trust fund will be depleted in 2024. This translates to $27 trillion in unfunded liabilities over the next 75 years. Current projections indicate that health care costs will increase by more that 70 percent over the next ten years and will continue thereafter to consume an increasingly greater portion of personal income.

The United Kingdom utilizes a national health service. This service is government owned and controlled. Most practitioners are employees of the government and hospitals are government run. Taxes provide nearly 80% of the funding for their health program. The remainders of the cost are covered by employee and employer contributions. Most providers and hospitals are public, although there is a small but growing private sector. The citizens of the United Kingdom pay nothing for visits to their physician or hospital stays. They also can choose which providers they want to visit and have “good access to primary care” (Hohman, 2006). The United Kingdom ranked number 18 in overall healthcare (WHO 2000) while spending only 8.4% of its gross domestic product (Kaiser EDU). In a recent poll, 79% of UK citizens “agreed that the NHS provided them with good service” (Health Science Journal, 2009).

Health care systems in__(where? Australia? The world?) have dramatically evolved in recent years. According to WHO, an effective healthcare system provides its citizens with high quality services, however this standard varies around the world (World Health Organization, 2016). The aim of this report seeks to compare the American and Australian healthcare systems with emphasis on health insurance both in the private and public sectors. Unquestionably, health insurance is a fundamental component in a health care system as….(why is it important?). Moreover, it is the top priority of all Governments to maintain and sustain a serviceable health care system to their citizens. Despite the differences between the Australian and American health care