Abstract:
The Australian prime minister, John Howard, has
engineered a major expansion in private healthcare
insurance and been re-elected. The electorally popular
Medicare provides universal coverage for free public
hospital treatment, out of hospital medical services,
and pharmaceuticals. Private insurance is limited to
private treatment in hospital and some ancillary
services, including dental care. Yet the two decade
trend of falling insurance cover has been reversed, and
over three years the proportion of the population
insured grew from :{O% to 45%.' What can the leader
of the British opposition. Michael Howard, and other
European conservatives learn from an Australian
colleague who has deliberately sought to enhance the
role of the private sector?
