Ask the hospital or doctor if reimbursement is possible. If not, ask the local public health authority. For international students or work visa employees in Australia, if you get sick or have an accident, you may need to directly fund the full cost of your treatment. The Private Health Insurance Ombudsman says that for an uninsured patient, public admission to the hospital can cost more than US$1500 per day for housing only. In addition, there are the costs of medical and drug fees. If you`re coming to Australia, you need to sign up for Medicare. This can be done in a service center of the human services department. Once you have registered, you are entitled to treatment under the Reciprocal Health Care Agreement. There are 11 countries with Reciprocal Health Care Agreements (RHCAs) with Australia that offer free healthcare to Medicare cardholders in these countries. It is important to note that these agreements do not cover ambulance travel to hospital, medical returns to Australia or dental care such as travel insurance. Not to mention all the non-medical coverage you need, like lost luggage, trip cancellations, and theft during the trip. Participating countries also enjoy the benefits of our public health system when they visit Australia, with fees charged to the person`s country of origin.

In this way, Australia has agreements with countries whose health systems are very close to ours and which share about the same number of visitors between the two countries. RHCAs have some amazing benefits for participating countries, but it is still not considered as comprehensive as travel insurance. «If you are hospitalized in Italy, you will be cared for in the public health system, but the nursing staff is a little different from what you expect in Australia,» he said. To see if you qualify for Medicare, visit www.medicareaustralia.gov.au To register with Medicare, visitors from the Netherlands need a valid Dutch passport and either their European Health Insurance Card with the initials NL or valid proof of insurance with Dutch Health Insurance. It`s also important to remember that Medicare offers benefits, but it doesn`t cover all possibilities. Reciprocal or RHCA healthcare agreements are intended to help Australians travelling overseas cover emergency medical expenses or access medical care who cannot wait to return home. In Australia, we are fortunate to have eleven mutual health agreements with different countries around the world. Insurance Council of Australia spokesman Campbell Fuller said it was important to take out private travel insurance whether or not the country you are visiting has a mutual health agreement. You`ll find some basic tips on healthcare and hospitals on the islands on the GOV. UK website and the official tourism website of the Turks and Caicos Islands….