History and Impact of Medicare Policy in Australia

Running head: SOCIAL POLICY
Social Policy
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

1SOCIAL POLICY
Introduction
Medicare policy can be illustrated as the plans and the decisions that are generally
undertaken towards the achievement of the specific health care related targets within the society.
The system of the health in the country of Australia is generally recognized as one of the best
OECD; Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (McClelland & Smyth,
2014). Commonly known as the Medicare policy, the mandatory insurance scheme for the public
in the country of Australia generally provide some of the effective health care coverage to the
citizens, the refugees and the permanent residents of the country. The Medicare policy in the
country of Australia is generally funded via the taxation as well as the levy. According to the
Australian governmental budget, these health care and the Medicare policy serves as the funding
revenue for the medicare system and the public hospitality funding for the inhabitants of the
Australia. The assignment focuses on the history and the origin of the health and the Medicare
policy in Australia together with the noted and the essential changes of the policy by the
government through out the times. The essay explains the effects of the Medicare policy of
Australia over the welfare system and the people of the country with a critical analysis and a
reflection of the topic.
Discussion
History of Medicare policy
The publicly funded universal health care system in Australia, the Medicare policy serves
as the primary and the basic funder of the health care system in the country of Australia
generally operated by department of human services (Md. Emdadul Hoque et al., 2018). The
development and the origin of the Medicare policy were primary for the welfare of the citizens of

2SOCIAL POLICY
the country. The policy aimed towards the entitlement of the rebate in case of treatments from
the medical practitioner, nurse practitioners allied health professionals. The policy was initially
developed so that the citizens of the country get free treatments in the public hospitals. Initially
developed and introduced in the year 1975, the Medicare policy of Australia as Medibank by
Whitlam Government, this was only limited to the paying customers (Carson & Kerr 2014). The
policy was reintroduced and improved by Hawke as the universal health care in the year 1984 as
Medicare.
The history of the formation of the Medicare policy follows back to the constitutional
framework. Inserted by the referendum of 1946, section 51 of the common wealth constitution
gave the power to the federal parliament subjected to the decision of the constitution for
initiating and introduction of the laws with respect to the various health care facilities. These
includes provision of maternity, pension of the widows, benefits of the hospital due to sickness,
the endowment of the children and the benefits to the students and the allowances of the needy
families in Australia (Arthurson, 2012). Followed by the end of the World War II, the Medicare
policy was developed for the increase in the number of the coverage of the Australian towards
the health insurance plans. In the year of early 1970s, a large number of the Australian
population lacked the coverage of the health care policy and the free check up and the Medicare
facilities. Australian families specifically with a very low rate of income lacked the coverage and
free public health care system.
Medicare policy and changes of government
Since the year 1999, there have been some of the notable changes in the Medicare policy
of the country by the government of Australia. Reports from the heath camps regarding the