Medicare (Australia)

Medicare

Agency overview
Formed	1 February 1984; 40 years ago (1 February 1984)[1]
Type	Program
Jurisdiction	Australia
Minister responsible	Bill Shorten, Minister for Government Services
Parent department	Services Australia
Website	servicesaustralia.gov.au/medicare

Medicare is the publicly funded universal health care insurance scheme in Australia, along with the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) operated by the nation's social security department, Services Australia. Medicare is the principal way Australian citizens and permanent residents access most health care services in Australia. The scheme either partially or fully covers the cost of most primary health care services in the public and private health care system. All Australian citizens and permanent residents have access to fully-covered health care in public hospitals, funded by Medicare (through the National Health Pool), as well as state and federal contributions. International visitors from 11 countries have subsidised access to medically necessary treatment under reciprocal agreements.

Many specialties and allied health services are partially covered by Medicare, including psychology and psychiatry, ophthalmology, physiotherapy and audiology, with the exception of dental services. The list of services covered, the standard operating fee for the service, and the portion of that fee covered, is set out in the Medicare Benefits Schedule (MBS). Services not covered by Medicare may be partially supported by private health insurance, which the Australian Government subsidises for most Australians.

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 insurance provider until it was privatised by the Abbott government in 2014.