Australian Healthcare
Citizens and permanent residents of Australia receive quality healthcare at no cost or at a reduced, subsidized price through the country’s public Medicare system, which is administered jointly by the federal, state, territorial and local governments. Australia’s Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) also covers the cost of prescription medicines in most cases for Australian citizens and permanent residents. In addition to the national Medicare benefit, individuals living in Australia have the option to pay for private healthcare insurance if they would like to receive healthcare outside of the public Medicare system and/or receive additional healthcare services not fully covered by Medicare. According to the Australian government (2020), “Medicare covers all of the cost of public hospital services. It also covers some or all of the costs of other health services. These can include services provided by GPs and medical specialists. They can also include physiotherapy, community nurses and basic dental services for children.” Receiving affordable access to advanced medical care and living in one of the world’s most peaceful countries has helped Aussies to have one of the world’s longest average lifespans (82.5 years).