To be consistent, I will post the cost comparisons in US dollars. 92% of Americans have some form of medical insurance. In Australia, Medicare is universal. Every taxpayer pays a 2% Medicare levy on their taxable income. I have private medical insurance, costing USD 2500 per year. It's a luxury, not a necessity. It ensures when I go back to Australia, I can have surgery within a month of getting there, and not have to go on a waiting list of 6-12 months. My private health insurance re-activates the minute I set foot in Australia. I pay no premiums while I am in Thailand. There are no arrears to pay. The Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme ( PBS ) caps most medications at USD 5 per prescription. For a concession card holder like me, my yearly spend on medications is capped at USD 200. As a side note, Trump and Big Pharma want Australia to cancel the PBS. Australia has an annual spend of about USD 1 billion on medical rearch. We are noted for punching above our weight in the field. CSL sells about USD 5 billion of medical products such as immunoglobulins, plasma, recombinant proteins and differentiated vaccines annually to the USA - products either America can't make, or are in short supply. I have never claimed socialism is perfect. No political system is. I am, however, amused by the irony of a country railing against its evils, while maintaining a socialist organization at its heart - the American military.
