Medicare (Australia)

Medicare is the publicly funded universal health care insurance scheme in Australia. The Department of Health, Disability and Ageing manages the program, while Services Australia is responsible for claim and registration processing. The scheme either partially or fully covers the cost of most health care, with services being delivered by state and territory governments or private enterprises. All Australian citizens and permanent residents are eligible to enroll in Medicare, as well as international visitors from 11 countries that have reciprocal agreements for medically necessary treatment.

The Medicare Benefits Schedule lists a standard operating fees for eligible services, called the schedule fee, and the percentage-portion of that fee that Medicare will pay for. When a health service charges only how much Medicare will pay, this is called a "bulk billed" service. Providers can charge more than the schedule fee for services, with patients responsible for the "gap payment". Most health care services are covered by Medicare, including medical imaging and pathology, with the notable exception of dentistry. Allied health services are typically covered depending on meeting certain criteria, such as being related to a chronic disease, and some private hospital costs may be partially covered. Public hospital costs are primarily funded through a different arrangement.

The scheme was created in 1975 by the Whitlam government under the name "Medibank". The Fraser government made significant changes to it from 1976, including its abolition in late 1981. The Hawke government reinstated universal health care in 1984 under the name "Medicare". Medibank continued to exist as a government-owned private health insurer until it was privatised by the Abbott government in 2014.