The Australian Health System - What You Need to Know

You health is imperative. In fact, to invest in your health is to invest in a bright future. Without good health your future may not be certain. In this instance, prevention is better than cure. However, illness can creep up n us when we least expect it to. So, a good health system is important. It’ll certainly put your mind at ease.

There are a few worthwhile factors to keep in mind in regards to the Australian Health System.
The public health system is funded through Medicare. The private health system is funded through private health insurance. Consider the following...

Establish if you are eligible for Medicare
If you reside in Australia, you are an Australian or New Zealand citizen or the holder of an

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Australian permanent resident visa
– you are eligible to enrol for Medicare. Of course, persons in possession of an Australian Temporary Resident Visa are not eligible to enrol for Medicare.

This rule remains intact irrespective of the length of the stay they’re under.

One exception; The holder of a United Kingdom passport under certain reciprocity arrangements with NHS a holder of an Australian temporary visa under a UK passport will be eligible to enrol for Medicare.

Eligible Australian permanent visa holders
These include skilled based visas, business-based visas and the family-based visas.

Ineligible Australian temporary visa holders
These include the initial entry student skilled-based visas, the initial entry employer sponsored and contractor type visas and the provisional entry business-based visas and the family-based visas.

Enquire what your services cover
In house hospital services Medicare covers
If you choose to be treated in a public hospital, Medicare covers the whole cost including the accommodation and all treatment by doctors and specialists. If you choose to be treated in a private hospital, Medicare covers 75 per cent of the Medicare Schedule fee for doctors and specialists.

You will need
Private health insurance for the hospital accommodation costs and the gap between other full medical service billings over the Medicare Schedule refund amounts.

Out of hospital services
Medicare covers 85 % of the Medicare Schedule fee. You’re responsible for the excess which is generally covered by your private health insurance.

Services include; Consultation fees for doctors and specialists, supporting medical procedures. These include X-rays and pathology tests and eye tests performed by optometrists.

excluded from the above mentioned are most dental procedures, contact lenses and private hospital cover again to be covered by private health insurance.

What cost will you incur?
There is no direct fee charged to join the national Medicare system. Instead, the cost to run the national Medicare system is recovered indirectly by levying each Australian taxpayer a base rate of 1.5 per cent of his or her taxable income.

Employers in Australia recover this base rate through the periodic PAYG tables.

Although the taking out of private health insurance covers is voluntary, if an Australian taxpayer fails to take out such cover (and is a so-called high income earner) a further 1 per cent Medicare levy surcharge will be added to such taxpayer's liability. An important planning tip is for those entering Australia under an Australian temporary resident visa to apply for exemption from the Medicare levy charge.

If you don't apply for the exemption certificate, you will not be refunded the Medicare levy collected, notwithstanding you did not and were not eligible for Medicare benefits. The exemption application form is also available from the Medicare website.

What are your Incentives for Private health Cover
For holders of an Australian permanent resident visa it is voluntary whether you wish to take out private health insurance. So the issue of the incentives is relevant to this class of visa holder. However, also important to recognise in the case of an Australian temporary visa holder, is that it is generally a condition imposed by the Department of " Immigration that such a visa holder must take out private health cover.

The three main incentives available for persons who take out private health insurance in Australia are the 'lifetime healthcover' concession, the federal government rebate benefit and the waiver of additional Medicare levy surcharge.

Lifetime health Cover Concession
How does the lifetime health cover concession operate? In order to lock in the lowest premium for life, a person needs to take out hospital insurance cover by 1st July following their 31st birthday. Thereafter, for each and every year that person fails to take out such cover, a loading for life is added to the premium at the cumulative rate of 2 per cent per year.

For example, if a new Australian permanent resident migrant enters Australia at the age of 39 and fails to take out hospital insurance cover until the age of 45, they will pay 30 per cent more in premiums (as calculated to the default 30 years of age), even though his or her residence in Australia has only been for six years.

Charges for Federal Government Rebate Benefit
How much is the federal government rebate benefit? For persons under the age of 65 the rebate is 30 per cent, for persons between the ages of 65-69 the rebate is 35 per cent and for persons over 70 is 40 per cent. The rebate is applied annually as a reduction to the health insurance premium then payable.

Medicare Levy Surcharge
Medicare levy surcharge of 1 per cent is applied to high income earners who fail to take out health insurance cover in any particular tax year. Note that a high income earner is a single person deriving annual taxable income of greater than AUS$50,000. A family or couple the threshold is annual taxable income greater than AUS$100,000 combined.

Tax Deduction
You can’t obtain a tax deduction for your medical expenses. Tax deduction is not obtained if net medical expenses are incurred or for private health insurance cover paid. Although, you are entitled to a tax offset determined at the flat rate of 20 per cent for all medical and pharmaceutical expenses incurred annually in excess of the present AUS$1,500 medical threshold.

Now that you aware of your benefits and the costs you will incur, how shall you plan ahead?

Check your visa class and if eligible enrol yourself and your family unit for Medicare at the earliest time of entry.

If you’re not eligible, for Medicare, apply for an annual exemption certificate. You can obtain advice on any prescribed waiting periods and register for ‘safety net benefits’ if medical expenditures are likely to be high.

Keep in mind that irrespective of visa class, take out private health insurance at the earliest time of entry. This will allow access to all the concessions. Contact the Private Health Insurance Administration for all the health insurance providers in the area you settle in. You should obtain two quotes for comparative purposes (cost and extent of cover). Also retain medical expense vouchers for tax year end claiming of the tax offset, where applicable.

Now that you’re clued up, you’re able to make full use of this system. Remember, you’re health a significant factor in your bright future in your

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