Manofchalk t1_je81iit wrote on March 30, 2023 at 2:05 AM

Reply to comment by Jf2611 in ELI5: What is Universal Healthcare by Thegreatcornholio459

> Universal healthcare is publicly provided ... healthcare

Not necessarily.

Australia's healthcare system incorporates a lot of private healthcare providers, on the lower level (GP's, dentists, etc) to my knowledge it is mostly private.

Private providers negotiate with the public insurer, Medicare, for how much they are paid per medical procedure and any extra they charge to the patient or any supplemental private insurance they might have. Some aim to charge entirely within what Medicare provides (called Bulk Billing services) while others charge more.

Jf2611 t1_je8297v wrote on March 30, 2023 at 2:10 AM

Very good point. There is a lot of complexity to the issue, but this is ELI5, so I thought it best to keep it simple.

Fortressa- t1_je958iy wrote on March 30, 2023 at 9:35 AM

Just to clarify, private providers do not negotiate with Medicare. The Medicare Benefits Schedule is set and the provider can take it or leave it. There are tweaks and new items and occasional indexations, but the rate is the rate. Docs can charge whatever they want, and the patient will only get back what the MBS says.