Socialized Medicine in Australia

An Australian who follows American political debates closely weighs in with a description of the joys of socialized medicine as practiced in the antipodes:

We have a wonderful balance here in Australia. If you need health care and can’t afford it, you can get it. Everyone can get it. There are a multitude of doctors who bulk bill. And you can use the public hospital system. But if you have a little more money, you can choose the extra cover. The government doesn’t decide what access I have- they just set a level of access, and everything beyond, I have to pay for.

Is that “rationing”? Perhaps. But at least we all have access to pretty good basic cover. At least a major illness will not bankrupt us. But, at the same time, if we have access to the extra funds, we can use them and pay for extra cover. [...] I am thankful for a system in which I can access a basic level of care regardless of my income, where I can choose to spend additional funds if I have them available, and where I have both public and private hospital options. For that, I’m happy to pay an extra $1.50 tax for every $100 I earn. It’s worth it.

I think these are really important points. Conservatives seem extremely worried about the possibility that the United States will implement rules that prevent people from paying for health care out of pocket or from acquiring private insurance. But no such proposals are on the table. A system that combines a government guarantee of coverage for certain things with governmental unwillingness to pay for certain other things doesn’t preclude the possibility that people will choose to pay for them. Here in the United States we have public schools and people also take violin lessons.