Health Care In Australia Essay

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On the surface, one may believe that the United States’ healthcare system and the Australian healthcare system are very similar to one another. Although the two systems are both complex, there are many key differences that can be noted. The most notable difference may be that Australia has a system of social justice believing that all citizens should have basic health care, regardless of whether or not they have the ability to afford the care. Australia is one of the leading nations with the lowest healthcare spending as a percentage of GDP (Murphy, 2012). The healthcare system in Australia involves many funders and healthcare providers, similar to the United States. The Australian government is mainly responsible for healthcare funding through…show more content…
The legal drinking age in Australia was reduced to 18 in 2009 to reduce underage drinking. However, there are still many alcohol users that are still far under the legal drinking age. In 2010, an astounding 78% of Australians 12 years old or over reported to have had consumed alcohol in the past year, including 46% who drink on a weekly basis (AIHW, 2010). Binge drinking is also popular among the youth in Australia. According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, about 37 percent of all people over 15 years reported binge drinking within two weeks of their response. The Australian government has recognized this issue and has therefore attempted to “separate binge drinking from the intangible social forces it is attached to” (Loewentheil, 2013). It is clear that the culture of binge drinking is common among the younger generation. To combat this problem among young people, the Australian prime minister announced an initiative costing $53.5 million (Loewentheil, 2013). Although most Australians do not drink at levels that put them at risk of harm, 28% of males and 11% of females drank at levels that put them at risk of alcohol-related harm over their lifetime (AIHW, 2010). Alcohol consumption in Australia cost the government 15.3 billion dollars from 2004 to 2005. These costs included healthcare costs, accidents and crimes as well as pain and

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