Medicare

Medicare refers to several publicly-funded health insurance programs that differ from place to place and country to country.

Medicare in United States

Medicare in United States is a social insurance program administered by the United States government, providing health insurance coverage to people who are aged 65 and over, or who meet other special criteria.
Medicare operates as a single-payer health care system.

Medicare in Australia

Medicare is Australia's publicly-funded universal health care system, operated by the government authority Medicare Australia. Medicare is intended to provide affordable treatment by doctors and in public hospitals for all resident citizens and permanent residents. Residents with a Medicare card can receive subsidized treatment from medical practitioners who have been issued a Medicare provider number, and fully subsidized treatment in public hospitals. Visitors from countries which have reciprocal arrangements with Australia have limited access to Medicare.


Medicare in Canada

The medicare in Canada is the universal publicly funded health insurance system.

Under the terms of the Canada Health Act, all insured persons are entitled to receive "insured services" without co-payment. Such services are defined as medically necessary services if provided in hospital, or by 'practitioners'.

Approximately 70% of Canadian health expenditures come from public sources, with the rest paid privately (both through private insurance, and through out-of-pocket payments). The extent of public financing varies considerably across services.