A reciprocal country has a health care agreement with Australia, which entitles its residents to receive treatment in a public hospital anywhere in Australia.
As a resident of one of these countries, you are entitled to the following health or injury treatments while you are in Australia:
- Emergency treatment as a public in-patient or out-patient in a public hospital
- Subsidised medicine under the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS)
- Medicare benefits for out-of-hospital treatment provided by a doctor (GP Visits)
The key word here is ‘emergency’. Reciprocal health care agreements aren’t designed to replace private travel and health insurance. If you rely on a reciprocal agreement, you may have to wait a while before you’re treated, even for emergency treatment. Taking out private health insurance means you won’t have to go on a public waiting list. What’s more, you’ll be able to choose your own doctor and hospital.