Australian health care: the current system. Part II.

The current Australian health care system is a return to the compulsory comprehensive insurance system of 1975, funded in part by a levy on incomes and operating through a centralized quazigovernmental institution. This article outlines the main elements of the system and discusses some problem areas. Because the nature and operation of the system depend on which of two alternative Governments is in power, the article also looks to possible changes in the next few years.