Many are not aware that the Australian government has signed and approved the “Reciprocal Health Care Agreements” with various countries. This will ensure that Australians travelling abroad especially in countries who similarly signed the agreement will get free health care from government-owned medical facilities. It is a common knowledge that travelling without the security of a health insurance can be frightening. In the United States, most especially, health care can be pretty exorbitant.
However, the said agreement is only applied to New Zealand and a number of countries in Europe, such as, the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland; Finland, Sweden, Norway and the Netherlands; and Malta, Italy and Belgium. You would not be able to avail of the basic health care under the agreement if you are travelling around the world. However, your trips to the above-mentioned countries may be even more enjoyable knowing you are protected with your country’s health care system even overseas. The primary objective of the agreement is to provide the urgent health care treatment to the various citizens of the agreeing nations.
You can easily avail of this reciprocal agreement by bringing along your passport and Medicare card; the latter is often an item not on your list of to-pack. You may also be required to inform the hospital that you wish to avail of the basic health care services under the agreement. Some doctors and hospital staff might not automatically think of the reciprocal agreement and will charge you much for the services they have provided. In addition, the services of various hospitals under the agreement is not similar. In some hospitals in England, they easily accommodate an Australian under the agreement without even checking on the required documents. Some countries may not be so lenient and may direct you to another hospital where basic health care is provided under the agreement. Others may not be well-informed and may use their uncertainty to refuse you. It is up to you now to educate these uninformed hospital personnel. This may pose quite a challenge especially when you are requiring health care. This may prove to be an inconvenience but still, you may have the good fortune to encounter accommodating staff and it will be a big help to tell them about the reciprocal agreement. They can easily verify this with the proper government agency through one phone call or googling online. Afterwards, you may thank your government for thinking of your welfare while you are offshore.