More on Australian Healthcare
The system over here seems like a decent one. Everyone has been covered with national medicare since 1984 and pays a 1.5% tax into it. (I think high income earners may pay slightly more.) You get all your minor and major ills taken care of with no deductible. Elective surgery is not covered. A govt selected list of medications are covered through a separate program. The list does not necessarily include the latests greatest drugs and there are restrictions on the more expensive ones.
You can also opt to pay for private insurance. There are public and private hospitals but only private insurance holders use the private hospitals. There are good and bad public hospitals but all the privates are considered very good. Some elective surgery is covered in private plans.
A couple of issues (there has to be a hitch or two!): minor non-critical surgery may have long waiting lines (as in months and months); if you have a critical illness and the best doc is at a private hospital, you have to pay out of pocket to see her; private hospitals can turn ambulances away if the victim doesn't have insurance; you won't necessarily get the best drugs to cure your ills unless your willing to pay out of pocket or you have private coverage.
Together this does make for a bit of a two-tiered, two-class health care system but less so than in the States. I've asked several folks with both medicare and private coverage about their health care and haven't heard any complaints.
