Our public health system is what I'd expect of any developed nation - everybody is covered, there is no discrimination whatsoever in terms of coverage. It is paid for via general taxes rather than individuals deciding on a cover limit and paying their own premium. Cover extends to essentially anything and everything that is medically approved (extremely expensive cancer trial drugs in their early stages may not always be covered as one example). Non-essential procedures/surgeries are prioritised as best they can be, but there is often a waiting list (e.g. knee replacements) which can be up to a few years. We also have a heavily regulated private system which supplements the public system - patients are generally able to circumvent waiting lists for non-essential procedures, and choose their treatment specialists etc. The current system is certainly not sustainable however - medical cost inflation is and has been much greater than general inflation for a long time - drivers include constantly improving technology/drugs, increased utilisation of the system where it isn't necessary (e.g. patients being prescribed particular drugs where it isn't necessary, or undertaking surgeries that they don't really need - one large problem here is that our medical specialists are paid by hospitals for services carried out rather than a salary - thus they have an incentive to push their patients towards surgeries etc even when not needed), and our imrpoved ability to keep a terminally ill person alive for extended periods of time. Statistically, most people will cost the system more in their last year of life than they will throughout the rest of their years combined. At some point, if the system is to last, there will need to be some line drawn in the sand about prolonging the life of a terminally ill patient at the expense of the Government - but that's a highly emotional and difficult conversation. Our political climate when it comes to health costs has been to stick our heads in the sand and pretend everything is ok - the next few Governments won't have to personally deal with the issue directly, so they don't bother making it a priority.