Worldwide Healthcare Plan Employee Application Form: Fill & Download for Free

Every ‘first world country, bar one and most other countries.AsiaCountries and regions that provide public healthcare in Asia include Bangladesh, Bhutan, Bahrain, China, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Iran, Israel, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Macau (see below), Malaysia, Mongolia, Oman, Singapore, Qatar, Sri Lanka, Syria, Taiwan (R.O.C.), (see below), Tajikistan, and Turkmenistan.BhutanThe Royal Government of Bhutan maintains a policy of free and universal access to primary health care. As hospital facilities in the country are limited, patients with diseases that cannot be treated in Bhutan, such as cancer, are normally referred to hospitals in India for treatment. Such referral treatment is also carried out at the cost of the Royal Government.GeorgiaIn 2013, Georgia adopted a universal health care system.Hong Kong[edit]Hong Kong has early health education, professional health services, and well-developed health care and medication system. The life expectancy is 84 for females and 78 for males, which is the second highest in the world, and 2.94 infant mortality rate, the fourth lowest in the world.IndiaIndia's healthcare system is dominated by the private sector, although there are various public healthcare systems like Rajiv Gandhi Jeevandayee Arogya Yojana in Maharashtra that provides free healthcare to those below the poverty line.Currently, the majority of Indian citizens do not have health insurance, and must pay out of pocket for treatment. There are government hospitals that provide treatment at taxpayer expense. Some essential drugs are offered free of charge in these hospitals.An outpatient card at AIIMS costs a one-time fee of 10 rupees (around 20 cents U.S.) and thereafter outpatient medical advice is free. In-hospital treatment costs depend on the financial condition of the patient and the facilities utilized, but are usually much less than the private sector. For instance, a patient is waived treatment costs if their income is below the poverty line. However, getting treatment at high quality government hospitals is very tough due to the high number of people needing healthcare and the lack of sufficient facilities.Primary health care is provided by city and district hospitals and rural primary health centres (PHCs). These hospitals provide treatment free of cost, but only if they are functional. Primary care is focused on immunization, prevention of malnutrition, pregnancy, child birth, postnatal care, and treatment of common illnesses.IsraelIsrael has a system of universal healthcare as set out by the 1995 National Health Insurance Law. The state is responsible for providing health services to all residents of the country, who can register with one of the four national health service funds. To be eligible, a citizen must pay a health insurance tax. Coverage includes medical diagnosis and treatment, preventive medicine, hospitalization (general, maternity, psychiatric and chronic), surgery and transplants, preventive dental care for children, first aid and transportation to a hospital or clinic, medical services at the workplace, treatment for drug abuse and alcoholism, medical equipment and appliances, obstetrics and fertility treatment, medication, treatment of chronic diseases and paramedical services such as physiotherapy and occupational therapy.JapanAll residents of Japan are required by the law to have health insurance coverage. People without insurance from employers can participate in a national health insurance programme, administered by local governments. Patients are free to select physicians or facilities of their choice and cannot be denied coverage. Hospitals, by law, must be run as non-profit and be managed by physicians.MacauMacau offers universally accessible single-payer system funded by taxes. Health care is provided by the Bureau for Health.MaldivesAasandha is the national healthcare insurance scheme of the Maldives. It provide taxpayer-funded medical assistance to all Maldivian Citizens. National Social Protection Agency Of Maldives was formed under the National Social Health Insurance Act on 27 August 2008 is mandated to administer the National Social Health Insurance Scheme and by an executive order under the same act mandated to conduct social protection programs identified by the government of Maldives. NSPA is also the responsible agency to regulate and conduct Social Protection programs under the Social Protection Act.People's Republic of ChinaSince the founding of the People's Republic of China, the goal of health care programs has been to provide care to every member of the population and to make maximum use of limited health-care personnel, equipment, and financial resources.In January 21, 2009, the Chinese government announced it would provide 850 billion yuan (US$127.5 billion) between 2009 and 2011 to improve the existing health care system.The plan was passed by the Chinese Cabinet in January 2009. The long-awaited medical reform plan promised to spend 850 billion yuan by 2011 to provide universal medical service and that measures would be taken to provide basic medical security to all Chinese.Singapore[Singapore has a universal health care system where government ensures affordability, largely through compulsory savings and price controls, while the private sector provides most care. Overall spending on health care amounts to only 3% of annual GDP. Of that, 66% comes from private sources.Singapore currently has the second lowest infant mortality rate in the world and among the highest life expectancies from birth, according to the World Health Organization.Singapore has "one of the most successful healthcare systems in the world, in terms of both efficiency in financing and the results achieved in community health outcomes," according to an analysis by global consulting firm Watson Wyatt.Sri LankaSri Lanka provides free universal healthcare to their citizens.TaiwanThe current health care system in Taiwan, known as National Health Insurance (NHI), was instituted in 1995. NHI is a single-payer compulsory social insurance plan that centralizes the disbursement of health care dollars. The system promises equal access to health care for all citizens, and the population coverage had reached 99% by the end of 2004. NHI is mainly financed through premiums based on the payroll tax, and is supplemented with out-of-pocket payments and direct government funding. In the initial stage, fee-for-service predominated for both public and private providers.NHI delivers universal coverage offered by a government-run insurer. The working population pays premiums split with their employers, others pay a flat rate with government help and the poor or veterans are fully subsidized.Under this model, citizens have free range to choose hospitals and physicians without using a gatekeeper and do not have to worry about waiting lists. NHI offers a comprehensive benefit package that covers preventive medical services, prescription drugs, dentalservices, Chinese medicine, home nurse visits and many more. Since NHI, the previously uninsured have increased their usage of medical services. Most preventive services are free such as annual checkups and maternal and child care. Regular office visits have co-payments as low as US $5 per visit. Co-payments are fixed and unvaried by the person's income.ThailandThailand introduced universal coverage reforms in 2001, becoming one of only a handful of lower-middle income countries to do so at the time. Means-tested health care for low income households was replaced by a new and more comprehensive insurance scheme, originally known as the 30 baht project, in line with the small co-payment charged for treatment. People joining the scheme receive a gold card that they use to access services in their health district, and, if necessary, get referrals for specialist treatment elsewhere. The bulk of finance comes from public revenues, with funding allocated to Contracting Units for Primary Care annually on a population basis. According to the WHO, 65% of Thailand's health care expenditure in 2004 came from the government, 35% was from private sources.Although the reforms have received a good deal of critical comment, they have proved popular with poorer Thais, especially in rural areas, and survived the change of government after the 2006 military coup. The then Public Health Minister, Mongkol Na Songkhla, abolished the 30 baht co-payment and made the UC scheme free. It is not yet clear whether the scheme will be modified further under the coalition government that came to power in January 2008.In 2016, Thailand became the first country in Asia to eliminate HIV transmission from mother to child, owing to its robust public healthcare system.EuropeAlmost all European countries have healthcare available for all citizens. Most European countries have systems of competing private health insurance companies, along with government regulation and subsidies for citizens who cannot afford health insurance premiums.Countries with universal healthcare include Austria, Belarus, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Malta, Moldova, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Serbia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, Ukraine, and the United Kingdom.AustriaHealthcare in Austria is universal for residents of Austria as well as those from other EU countries.Austria has a two-tier payment system in which many individuals receive basic publicly funded care; they also have the option to purchase supplementary private health insurance.BelgiumHealthcare in Belgium is composed of three parts. Firstly there is a primarily publicly funded healthcare and social security service run by the federal government, which organises and regulates healthcare; independent private/public practitioners, university/semi-private hospitals and care institutions. There are a few (commercially run for-profit) private hospitals.Secondly is the insurance coverage provided for patients. Finally, industry coverage covers the production and distribution of healthcare products for research and development. The primary aspect of this research is done in universities and hospitals.CroatiaCroatia has a universal health care system that provides medical services and is coordinated by the Ministry of Health. The population is covered by a basic health insurance plan provided by statute and by optional insurance. It is administered by the Croatian Health Insurance Fund. In 2012, annual compulsory healthcare related expenditures reached 21.0 billion kunas (c. 2.8 billion euro). There are hundreds of healthcare institutions in Croatia, including 79 hospitals and clinics with 25,285 beds, caring for more than 760 thousand patients per year, 5,792 private practice offices and 79 emergency medical service units.Czech RepublicCzech Republic has a universal public health system paid largely from taxation. Private health care systems do co-exist freely alongside public ones, sometimes offering better quality or faster service. Almost all medical services are covered by health insurance and insurance companies, though certain services such as prescription drugs or vision and dental care are only covered partially.DenmarkDenmark has a universal public health system paid largely from taxation with local municipalities delivering health care services in the same way as other Scandinavian countries. Primary care is provided by a general practitioner service run by private doctors contracting with the local municipalities with payment on a mixed per capita and fee for service basis. Most hospitals are run by the municipalities (only 1% of hospital beds are in the private sector).FinlandIn Finland, public medical services at clinics and hospitals are run by the municipalities (local government) and are funded 76% by taxation, 20% by patients through access charges, and 4% by others. Private provision is mainly in the primary care sector. There are a few private hospitals.The main hospitals are either municipally owned (funded from local taxes) or run by the medical teaching universities (funded jointly by the municipalities and the national government). According to a survey published by the European Commission in 2000, Finland's is in the top 4 of EU countries in terms of satisfaction with their hospital care system: 88% of Finnish respondents were satisfied compared with the EU average of 41.3%.Finnish health care expenditures are below the European average. The private medical sector accounts for about 14 percent of total health care spending. Only 8% of doctors choose to work in private practice, and some of these also choose to do some work in the public sector.FranceFrance has a system of health care largely financed by government through a system of national health insurance. Nonetheless, not all medical care is paid for by the state, with only 70% of initial GP care covered and anywhere between 35% and 100% of prescription medication covered. It is consistently ranked as one of the best in the world.GermanyGermany has the world's oldest national social health insurance system, with origins dating back to Otto von Bismarck's Sickness Insurance Law of 1883.The system is decentralized with private practice physicians providing ambulatory care, and independent, mostly non-profit hospitals providing the majority of inpatient care. Employers pay for half of their employees' health insurance contributions, while self-employed workers pay the entire contribution themselves.Approximately 90% of the population is covered by a statutory health insurance plan, which provides a standardized level of coverage through any one of approximately 100 public sickness funds.The rest are covered by private health insurance. Private health insurance is only accessible to self-employed workers, and to high-income employees. The contributions for publicly insurance is determined according to the income, while the contributions for private health insurance are determined according to age and health condition.Historically, the level of provider reimbursement for specific services is determined through negotiations between regional physician's associations and sickness funds. Since 1976 the government has convened an annual commission, composed of representatives of business, labor, physicians, hospitals, and insurance and pharmaceutical industries.GreeceThe Greek healthcare system provides high quality medical services to insured citizens and is coordinated by the Ministry for Health and Social Solidarity. Public health services are provided by the National Healthcare Service, or ESY (Greek: Εθνικό Σύστημα Υγείας, ΕΣΥ). In 2010 there were 35,000 hospital beds and 131 hospitals in the country.The Greek healthcare system has received high rankings by the World Health Organization, ranked 14th in the overall assessment and 11th in quality of service in a 2000 report by the WHO.Guernsey / JerseyThe medical care system in the Channel Islands is very similar to that of the UK in that many of the doctors and nurses have been trained from the UK health perspective. There is universal health care for residents of the islands.IcelandIceland has a universal public health system paid largely from taxation with local municipalities delivering health care services in the same way as other Scandinavian countries. Iceland's entire population has equal access to health care services.IrelandThe public health care system of the Republic of Ireland is governed by the Health Act 2004, which established a new body to be responsible for providing health and personal social services to everyone living in Ireland – the Health Service Executive. The new national health service came into being officially on January 1, 2005; however, the new structures are currently in the process of being established as the reform program continues. In addition to the public-sector, there is a large private health care market.In Ireland, 37% of the population have a means tested medical card that gives the holder access to tax-funded GP care and requires €2.50 for each prescription drug. For all other residents, the average price for an appointment with a family doctor is €50.Isle of ManThe Isle of Man provides universal public health coverage to its residents.ItalyItaly has a public health care service for all the residents called "Servizio Sanitario Nazionale" or SSN (National Health Service). It is similar to the UK National Health Service. It is publicly run and funded mostly from taxation. Some services require variable co-pays, while other services (like emergency medicine and a general doctor) are free. Like the UK, there is a small parallel private health care system, especially in the field of dentistry and optometry.LuxembourgLuxembourg provides universal health care coverage to all residents (Luxembourgers and foreigners) by the National Health Insurance (CNS - Caisse nationale de santé (French) or National Gesondheetskeess (Luxembourgish)). It is funded by mandatory contributions of employers and the workforce, and by government subsidies for insuring jobseekers, the poor, and for financing medical infrastructure. The nation also has mandatory public long-term care insurance.NetherlandsThe Netherlands has a dual-level system. All primary and curative care (family doctors, hospitals, and clinics) is financed from private compulsory insurance. Long term care for the elderly, the dying, the long term mentally ill etc. is covered by social insurance funded from taxation. According to the WHO, the health care system in the Netherlands was 62% government funded and 38% privately funded as of 2004.Insurance companies must offer a core universal insurance package for universal primary, curative care, including the cost of all prescription medicines. They must do this at a fixed price for all. People pay the same premium whether young or old, healthy or sick. It is illegal in The Netherlands for insurers to refuse an application for health insurance, to impose special conditions (e.g., exclusions, deductibles, co-pays etc., or refuse to fund treatments that a doctor has determined are medically necessary). The system is 50% financed from payroll taxes paid by employers to a fund controlled by the Health regulator. The government contributes an additional 5% to the regulator's fund. The remaining 45% is collected as premiums paid by the insured directly to the insurance company. Some employers negotiate bulk deals with health insurers and some even pay the employees' premiums as an employment benefit. The regulator has sight of the claims made by policyholders and therefore can redistribute the funds its holds on the basis of relative claims made by policy holders. Thus insurers with high payouts receive more from the regulator than those with low payouts. Insurance companies have no incentive to deter high cost individuals from taking insurance and are compensated if they have to pay out more than might be expected. Insurance companies compete with each other on price for the 45% direct premium part of the funding and try to negotiate deals with hospitals to keep costs low and quality high. The competition regulator is charged with checking for abuse of dominant market positions and the creation of cartels that act against the consumer interests. An insurance regulator ensures that all basic policies have identical coverage rules so that no person is medically disadvantaged by his or her choice of insurer.NorwayNorway has a universal public health system paid largely from taxation in the same way as other Scandinavian countries. The Norwegian health care system is government-funded and heavily decentralized. The health care system in Norway is financed primarily through taxes levied by county councils and municipalities. Dental care is included for children until 18 years old, and is covered for adults for some ailments.Norway regularly comes top or close to the top of worldwide healthcare rankings.Portugal[Portugal's National Healthcare Service, known nationally as Serviço Nacional de Saúde (SNS), is a universal and free healthcare service provided nationwide since 1979 and available to both Portuguese and foreign residents. In 2014, Portugal SNS ranked 13th best healthcare service in Europe.The National Medical Emergency Institute (INEM) is the main emergency medical service and can be activated by calling 112.RomaniaAccording to Article 34 of the Constitution of Romania, the state is obliged "to guarantee the protection of healthcare". Romania has a fully universal healthcare system, which covers medical check-ups, any surgical interventions, and any postoperative medical care, as well as free or subsidized medicine for a range of diseases. The state is also obliged to fund public hospitals and clinics. Dental care is not funded by the state, although there are public dental clinics in some hospitals, which treat patients free of charge.However, due to inadequate funding and corruption, it is estimated that a third of medical expenses are, in some cases, supported by the patient.Furthermore, Romania spends, per capita, less than any other EU state on medical care.Russia and Soviet UnionIn the Soviet Union, the preferred term was "socialist medicine"; the Russian language has no term to distinguish between "socialist" and "socialized" (other than "public", Rus: obshchestvenniy/общественный, sometimes "collectivized" or "nationalized", Rus: obobshchestvlenniy/обобществленный).Russia in Soviet times (between 1917 and 1991) had a totally socialist model of health care with a centralised, integrated, hierarchically organised with the government providing free health care to all citizens. Initially successful at combating infectious diseases, the effectiveness of the socialized model declined with underinvestment. Despite a doubling in the number of hospital beds and doctors per capita between 1950 and 1980, the quality of care began to decline by the early 1980s and medical care and health outcomes were below western standards.The new mixed economy Russia has switched to a mixed model of health care with private financing and provision running alongside state financing and provision. The OECD reported that unfortunately, none of this has worked out as planned and the reforms have in many respects made the system worse.The population's health has deteriorated on virtually every measure. The resulting system is overly complex and very inefficient. It has little in common with the model envisaged by the reformers. Although there are more than 300 private insurers and numerous public ones in the market, real competition for patients is rare leaving most patients with little or no effective choice of insurer, and in many places, no choice of health care provider either. The insurance companies have failed to develop as active, informed purchasers of health care services. Most are passive intermediaries, making money by simply channelling funds from regional OMS funds to healthcare providers.Article 41 of the Constitution of the Russian Federation confirms a citizen's right to state healthcare and medical assistance free of charge. This is achieved through state compulsory medical insurance (OMS), which is free to Russian citizens, funded by obligatory medical insurance payments made by companies and government subsidies.Introduction in 1993 reform of new free market providers in addition to the state-run institutions intended to promote both efficiency and patient choice. A purchaser-provider split help facilitate the restructuring of care, as resources would migrate to where there was greatest demand, reduce the excess capacity in the hospital sector and stimulate the development of primary care. Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin announced a new large-scale health care reform in 2011 and pledged to allocate more than 300 billion rubles ($10 billion) in the next few years to improve health care in the country. He also said that obligatory medical insurance tax paid by companies will increase from current 3.1% to 5.1% starting from 2011.Serbia[edit]Main article: Healthcare in SerbiaThe Constitution of the Republic of Serbia states that it is a right of every citizen to seek medical assistance free of charge.[137]This is achieved by mutual contribution to the Compulsory Social Healthcare Fund of RZZO (Republički Zavod za Zdravstveno Osiguranje or National Health Insurance Institution). The amount of contribution depends on the amount of money the person is making. During the 1990s, Serbia's healthcare system has been of a poor quality due to severe underfunding. In the recent years, however, that has changed and the Serbian government has invested heavily in new medical infrastructure, completely remodeling existing hospitals and building two new hospitals in Novi Sad and Kragujevac.SpainSpain provides a public universal health care system for all citizens and, under certain conditions, also non-citizens. Healthcare is free except for co-payments in some products and services; it is mostly paid from the Social Security budget. Adult dental care is not covered but for basic extractions or problems that could result in serious stomatological conditions.Irrespective of the nationality and insurance situation of the patient, the public system always treats medical emergencies until achieving the best possible outcome. If not covered by the Spanish Social Security (i.e., a visiting foreigner), the provider later negotiates payment with the patient or the patient's insurer. If actually unable to pay, it is covered by the Social Security on humanitarian grounds unless the patient purposely traveled to Spain to get free healthcare. Obvious unexpected emergencies like accidental injuries or sudden illness are customarily covered, but those that could be reasonably expected (e.g., arising from a chronic condition or from avoidable risk-taking) are studied on a case-per-case basis.Private health insurance is available for those who prefer it, and recommended for visitors not covered by the Spanish Social Security or a foreign public or private insurer with overseas coverage.SwedenSweden has a universal public health system paid largely from taxation in the same way as other Scandinavian countries. Sweden's entire population has equal access to health care services. The Swedish public health system is funded through taxes levied by the county councils, but partly run by private companies. Government-paid dental care for those under 21 years old is included in the system. Dental care above a fixed amount is also subsidised.Sweden also has a smaller private health care sector, mainly in larger cities or as centers for preventive health care financed by employers.Sweden regularly comes in top in worldwide healthcare rankings.SwitzerlandHealthcare in Switzerland is universally available and is regulated by the Federal Health Insurance Act of 1994. Basic health insurance is mandatory for all persons residing in Switzerland (within three months of taking up residence or being born in the country). Supplemental insurance plans are optional. Insurers are required to offer insurance to everyone, regardless of age or medical condition. They are not allowed to make a profit off this basic insurance, but can on supplemental plans.United KingdomEach of the countries of the United Kingdom has a National Health Service that provides public healthcare to all UK permanent residents that was originally designed to be free at the point of need and paid for from general taxation; but changes included introducing charging for prescription medicines and dentistry (those below 16 and those on certain benefits may still get free treatment). However, since health is now a devolved matter, considerable differences are developing between the systems in each of the countries as for example Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales abolished prescription charges.Private healthcare companies are free to operate alongside the public system.EnglandThe National Health Service (NHS), created by the National Health Service Act 1946, has provided the majority of healthcare in England since its launch on 5 July 1948.The NHS Constitution for England documents, at high level, the objectives of the NHS, the legal rights and responsibilities of the various parties (patients, staff, NHS trust boards), and the guiding principles that govern the service.The NHS constitution makes it clear that it provides a comprehensive service, available to all irrespective of age, gender, disability, race, sexual orientation, religion, or belief; that access to NHS services is based on clinical need and not an individual's ability to pay; and that care is never refused on unreasonable grounds. Patient choice in terms of doctor, care, treatments, and place of treatment is an important aspect of the NHS's ambition, and in some cases patients can elect for treatment in other European countries at the NHS's expense. Waiting times are low, with most people able to see their primary care doctor on the same day or the following day.Only 36.1% of hospital admissions are from a waiting list, with the remainder being either emergencies admitted immediately or else pre-booked admissions or the like (e.g., child birth).One of the main goals of care management is to ensure that patients do not experience a delay of more than 18 weeks from initial hospital referral to final treatment, inclusive of time for all associated investigative tests and consultations. At present, two-thirds of patients are treated in under 12 weeks.Though centrally funded, the NHS is not managed by a large central bureaucracy. Responsibility is divided among geographical areas through Strategic Health Authorities. Management is distributed even more locally through NHS primary care trusts, NHS hospital trusts—and increasingly to NHS foundation trusts that providing even more decentralized services within the NHS framework, with more decisions left to local people, patients, and staff. The central government office—the Department of Health—is not involved in day-to-day decision making in either the Strategic Health Authorities or the individual local trusts (primarily health, hospital, or ambulance) or the national specialist trusts such as NHS Blood and Transplant. It does lay down general guidelines they must follow. Local trusts are accountable to their local populations, whilst government ministers are accountable to Parliament for the service overall.The NHS provides, among other things, primary care, in-patient care, long-term healthcare, psychiatric care and treatments, ophthalmology, and dentistry. All treatment is free with the exception of certain charges for prescriptions, dentistry and ophthalmology (which themselves are free to children, certain students in full-time education, the elderly, the unemployed and those on low incomes). Around 89 pc of NHS prescriptions are obtained free of charge, mostly for children, pensioners, and pregnant women. Others pay a flat rate of £8.80, and others may cap their annual charges by purchasing an NHS Prescription Prepayment Certificate. Private health care has continued parallel to the NHS, paid for largely by private insurance. Private insurance accounts for only 4 percent of health expenditure and covers little more than a tenth of the population.Private insurers in the UK only cover acute care from specialists. They do not cover generalist consultations, pre-existing conditions, medical emergencies, organ transplants, chronic conditions such as diabetes, or conditions such as pregnancy or HIV. Most NHS general practitioners are private doctors who contract to provide NHS services, but most hospitals are publicly owned and run through NHS Trusts. A few NHS medical services (such as "surgicentres") are sub-contracted to private providers as are some non-medical services (such as catering). Some capital projects such as new hospitals have been funded through the Private Finance Initiative, enabling investment without (in the short term) increasing the public sector borrowing requirement, because long-term contractually obligated PFI spending commitments are not counted as government liabilities.Northern Ireland[Health and Social Care in Northern Ireland is the designation of the national public health service in Northern Ireland.ScotlandNHS Scotland, created by the National Health Service (Scotland) Act 1947, was also launched on 5 July 1948, although it has always been a separate organization. Since devolution, NHS Scotland has followed the policies and priorities of the Scottish Government, including the phasing out of all prescription charges by 2011.WalesNHS Wales was originally formed as part of the same NHS structure created by the National Health Service Act 1946 but powers over the NHS in Wales came under the Secretary of State for Wales in 1969, in turn being transferred under devolution to what is now the Welsh Government.OceaniaAustralia and New Zealand have universal health care.AustraliaIn Australia, Medibank—as it was then known—was introduced, by the Whitlam Labor government on July 1, 1975, through the Health Insurance Act 1973. The Australian Senate rejected the changes multiple times and they were passed only after a joint sitting after the 1974 double dissolution election. However, Medibank was supported by the subsequent Fraser Coalition (Australia) government and became a key feature of Australia's public policy landscape. The exact structure of Medibank/Medicare, in terms of the size of the rebate to doctors and hospitals and the way it has administered, has varied over the years. The original Medibank program proposed a 1.35% levy (with low income exemptions) but these bills were rejected by the Senate, and so Medibank was funded from general taxation. In 1976, the Fraser Government introduced a 2.5% levy and split Medibank in two: a universal scheme called Medibank Public and a government-owned private health insurance company, Medibank Private.During the 1980s, Medibank Public was renamed Medicare by the Hawke Labor government, which also changed the funding model, to an income tax surcharge, known as the Medicare Levy, which was set at 1.5%, with exemptions for low income earners.The Howard Coalition government introduced an additional levy of 1.0%, known as the Medicare Levy Surcharge, for those on high annual incomes ($70,000) who do not have adequate levels of private hospital coverage.This was part of an effort by the Coalition to encourage take-up of private health insurance. According to WHO, government funding covered 67.5% of Australia's health care expenditures in 2004; private sources covered the remaining 32.5% of expenditures. As of 2019, the Medicare levy is 2% of taxable income, with a Medicare levy surcharge, for those on high income who do not have appropriate private patient hospital cover (1% for singles on $90,000 pa and families on $180,000 pa, rising to 1.5% for higher incomes).New ZealandAsiaCountries and regions that provide public healthcare in Asia include Bangladesh, Bhutan, Bahrain, China, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Iran, Israel, (see below), Jordan, Kazakhstan, Macau (see below), Malaysia, Mongolia, Oman, Singapore, Qatar, Sri Lanka, Syria, Taiwan (R.O.C.), (see below), Tajikistan, and Turkmenistan.You can look the rest up yourself, there is, of course one glaring omission from a country that once was a world leader.

India is one of the biggest hubs for IT companies the world over. With global companies looking to make their way into the Indian IT sector, there are a tremendous number of Indian IT Companies which have impacted the industry in a big way. Here is a list of the top 10 IT companies in India 2014. At bottom of the list we have rising companies like Rolta, Polaris,Mindtree with Revenues near Rs. 2000 Crores. In the middle we have Oracle Financials, Mphasis, Tech M, HCL and towards the Top giants like TCS, Infosys and Wipro.10) Rolta IndiaRevenue: Rs 1083 CrRolta India (founded in 1989) is headquartered in Mumbai, India and is led by Mr. Kamal K Singh as the current CEO and Managing Director. The company has various branches in various parts of India (Mumbai and Gurgaon) and Canada. Rolta employs around 5000 professionals and has a countrywide infrastructure and international subsidiaries across the globe. Services provided by Rolta India include geospatial engineering design such as plant design and mechanical design solutions and services, plant information management services and engineering design services for ship building and other applications, eSecurity services and solutions along with software development services such as high end games development and software testing. Recently Rolta India Ltd. had won a $31 million contract from Memphis Light gas and Water (MLGW) to provide consulting, systems integration and software services to the largest three-service municipal utility in the US.9) Polaris TechnologyRevenue: Rs 1487 CrPolaris (founded in 1993) has its headquarters in Chennai, India and has around 12,500+ employees spread worldwide. It is a provider of financial technology products, legacy modernization services and consulting for core banking, corporate banking, wealth & asset management and insurance. Arun Jain is the current CEO and Chairman and Govind Singhal is the current President and COO. In April 2013, Polaris launched its 8012 FT Design Center - the world's first Center dedicated to Financial Technology. 8012 FT Design Center is spread over 30,000 sq. ft and is located in the 22 acre Polaris campus on the IT Highway in Chennai. In a quest for knowledge opportunity, spanning over the last 2 decades (11 years as Polaris), Polaris has established its solutions and services footprint globally contributing to the realization of its business vision.) MindtreeRevenue: Rs 2208 CrMindtree (founded in 1999) is headquartered in Bangalore, India and has a corporate office in New Jersey, USA. The company with its 13000+ employees is led by Mr. Subrorto Bagchi and Mr. Krishnakumar Natarajan, the former as the Chairman and the latter as the CEO. The two were also the founders of the company; they had the idea of starting up an IT services company and were already, in some sense, industry icons with Bagchi being the chief executive of Wipro’s R&D team and Natarajan being the chief executive of Wipro’s e-commerce division. Mindtree has been able to grow fast with around 28 offices located across USA, Netherlands, Sweden, UK, Germany, France, Switzerland, Belgium, Australia, Singapore, China, UAE and India. It follows a consulting driven approach and caters to over of 40 Fortune 500 enterprises. The core services of the company are in the areas of Agile, Digital, Analytics, Testing, Infrastructure Management and SAP.7) Oracle Financial ServicesRevenue: Rs 2396 CrOracle Financial Services (founded in 1990) has headquarters in Mumbai, India. It is a subsidiary of Oracle Corporation and claims to have more than 900 customers. Oracle Financial Services Software has a strong global reach with a sales, marketing and support presence in 27 overseas locations operating under four subsidiaries (Oracle Financial Services Software, Inc. in the USA, Oracle Financial Services Software b.v. in The Netherlands, Oracle Financial Services Software Pte. Ltd. in Singapore, and iPSL in India). In addition, the Company is represented in over 85 countries through over 32 corporate business partners. With employee strength of around 10,000 it has been entering into vast domains of banking like Core Banking, Private Banking, and Lending etc. Oracle Financial Services Software Limited has two main streams of business. The products division (formerly called BPD – Banking products Division) and Prime Sourcing. Recently, Oracle Financial Services even launched products for Internal Capital Adequacy Assessment Process, exposure management, enterprise performance management and energy and commodity trading complziance.MphasisRevenue: Rs 2433 CrMphasis (then, Mphasis BFL Limited) was formed in June 2000 after the merger of the US-based IT consulting company MphasiS Corporation (founded in 1998) and the Indian IT services company BFL Software Limited (founded in 1992).It is a Bangalore based IT services company majority owned by Hewlett-Packard and is led by Mr. Balu Ganesh Ayyar as CEO. It has offices in more than 19 countries and in India it is present in almost 11 locations. Consistently Mphasis has delivered superior global Infrastructure Technology Outsourcing, Applications Services Outsourcing and Business Process Outsourcing services through a combination of technology know-how, domain and process expertise. The markets served by the company are financial services & insurance, healthcare, manufacturing, government, transportation, communications, and consumer & retail industries. In February 2014 the Mphasis Company changed its logo and the Brand Name as Mphasis Unleash the Next as it seeks to boost business other than from parent Hewlett-Packard, currently its largest client. With around 50,000 employees this is a growing company with a seemingly bright future.) HCL TechnologiesRevenue: Rs 11792 CrHCL Technologies is a $5.2 billion global company bringing IT and engineering services expertise under one roof to solve complex business problems for customers. It was founded in 1991 and is currently headquartered in Noida, India and serves around 31 countries worldwide. It has a high resource base of around 90,190 employees. Shiv Nadar and Anant Gupta lead the organization the former as the Chairman and the latter as the CEO and President. HCL Technologies has made it on the Forbes Global 2000 list and is one of Asia’s Fab 50 Companies. “Employees first, Customer Second” is its logo which according to the company acts as an energy booster for its employees and hence helps engaging its employees in a way that allows them to deliver business value – whether it involves enterprise application services, IT infrastructure management, custom application services, engineering and R&D services, business services or enterprise transformation services.) Tech MahindraRevenue: Rs 11925 Cr.Tech Mahindra is part of the $12.5 billion Mahindra Group, in partnership with British Telecommunications plc (BT), one of the world’s leading communications service providers. It was founded in 1986 and currently has its headquarters in Mumbai, India. The merger with Mahindra Satyam in the year 2013 has helped it climb the ladder from the number 5 to the number 4 as compared to last year’s statistics and hence now the complete entity has 89,500 employees, servicing 540 customers across 49 countries. It has some well known famous personalities linked with its success, Anand Mahindra was its founder and current chairman and CP Gurnani holds the position of the CEO and MD. Its activities spread across a broad spectrum, including Business Support Systems (BSS), Operations Support Systems (OSS), Network Design & Engineering, Next Generation Networks, Mobility Solutions, and Security consulting and testing. However, The primary segment of the Company is business segment by category of customers is the Telecom Service Providers (TSP), Telecom Equipment Manufacturer (TEM), BPO and others, which includes non telecom vertical customers and the secondary segment is the geographical segment by location of its customers.3) WiproRevenue: Rs 28312 CrWipro founded in 1945 by Mr. MH Premji (current CEO Mr. TK Kurien), has 146,053 employees spread across 61 countries. Wipro Limited is a global provider of comprehensive IT solutions and services, including Systems Integration, Consulting, Information Systems outsourcing, IT-enabled services, and R&D services. It is also a value added reseller of desktops, servers, notebooks, storage products, networking solutions and packaged software for international brands. To focus on core IT Business, it demerged its non-IT businesses into a separate company named Wipro Enterprises Limited with effect from 31 March 2013. This company offers services in healthcare, infrastructure etc. and contributed to around 10% of the profit. Wipro is presently ranked among the top 100 Technology companies in the world. It is the first Indian IT Service Provider to be awarded Gold-Level Status in Microsoft's Windows Embedded Partner Program and the first in the world to use six sigma.InfosysRevenue: Rs 32975 Cr.Infosys (founded in 1981) is led by the renowned Mr. Narayan Muthi and is headquartered in Bangalore,India. It has global presence with 73 offices and 94 development centers in the United States, India, China, Australia, Japan, Middle East, and Europe, giving employment to around 160,405 employees worldwide. Infosys provides software development, maintenance and independent validation services to companies in banking, finance, insurance, manufacturing and other domains. From a capital of about US$ 250, it has grown to become a US$ 8.25 billion (FY14 revenues) company with a market capitalization of approximately US$ 31 billion. Apart from its IT service excellence Infosys has been ranked among the 'Top Ten Greenest Brands in India,’ according to a consumer survey conducted in 2011 by Cohn & Wolfe. Infosys has been featured in the 'Green Brands' list for the third consecutive year. Hence, for over three decades, Infosys as a company focused on bringing to life great ideas and enterprise solutions that drive progress for clients.Tata Consultancy ServicesRevenue: Rs 47779 Cr.TCS (founded in 1968) is headquartered in Mumbai, India and is the leading company in IT services and IT consulting in India. Its founder was the much renowned J.R.D. Tata and is currently led by Mr. Natarajan Chandrasekaran at the CEO position. It has around 300,464 employees spread across 46 countries across the world. This company has also been added to the ‘Big 4’ most valuable IT services brands worldwide with IBM, HP and Accenture. TCS has been able to maintain its number 1 position in Indian IT industry since a long period of time and has also been ranked amongst the top worldwide. TCS and its 59 subsidiaries provide a range of information technology-related products and services including application development, business process outsourcing, capacity planning, consulting, enterprise software, hardware sizing, payment processing, software management and technology education services. Hence, it has been building on more than 40 years of experience, and strives to add real value to global organizations through its domain expertise and world-class service.

1. DolibarrDolibarr ERP system provides complete end-to-end solutions for small and midsize businesses. It has everything that ERP needs. With its fairly structured interface, it offers everything–from tracking and keeping records of orders, invoices, inventory, contracts, and payments, to handling electronic documents and assisting the point-of-sale system. To streamline the processes and improve profitability, it provides modules to manage ERP, CRM, sales, address book, events, finances, projects, calendars, etc.With an auto-installer feature in Dolibarr, people with little or no technical knowledge can install and use Dolibarr with all its prerequisites within just one package.Those packages are :For Windows users- DoliWampFor Debian/Ubuntu users- DoliDebFor Linux RedHat/Fedora/OpenSuse/Mandriva/Mageia users- DoliRpmAnd, for all other OS and Cloud solutions- “generic” version.Some key facts about Dolibarr:Latest Dolibarr version is 9.0, released in February 2019.It is written in PHP.It is a web-based application that can be accessed via the internet.It is free under GNU General Public License 3.0.Its code is highly customizable.It supports multi-user, multi-currency and multi-language.It uses MySQL, MariaDB or PostgreSQL databases.Dolibarr has support for only one company or foundation. It means if you want to manage two different companies, then you are required to install the software twice. If you want to manage several companies with one installation, you need to buy Module MultiCompany on www.dolistore.com.You can also try Dolibarr’s online demo instance and check its source code on GitHub. And to download the latest version, you can go to project on SourceForge.2. OdooOdoo is an all-in-one management software that contains a suite of related business applications. It provides modules for project management, warehouse, eCommerce, inventory management, billing, accounting, purchasing, and manufacturing. Odoo apps are perfectly integrated with each other, allowing a seamless exchange of information among its modules. It will help you to automate your business process efficiently.The Odoo interface resembles the interface of Google Drive, displaying only those functions that need to be visible. With its simple interface, it can make even a complex ERP system a user-friendly experience.You can try Odoo for free before you decide to sign up. Here are the pricing details for Odoo:For unlimited users, Odoo offers one application for free. And it will remain free as long as you don’t install new apps.Odoo offers a free trial for users who want to use more than one app. After the trial period expires, you have to pay a monthly fee to access apps that help you build a website, automate the marketing process, run a CRM and so on.IoT integration with OdooIntegration of Odoo and Internet of Things (IoT) technology is disrupting ERP mechanisms. IoT box by Odoo can help you connect external devices such as printers, scanners, footswitch, etc. to the Odoo database. IoT box provides an easy setup and configuration process. Connecting the IoT box to Odoo does not require any technical skills or knowledge. To connect IoT box to the Odoo database, you can go to the Odoo user documentation page.Advantages of IoT box by Odoo:With the fast operations and automation capabilities of IoT box, the time taken for a particular process is significantly reduced.There will be less encoding mistakes when the devices are used for inputs.The workload will also get reduced.You can download Odoo from https://www.odoo.com/page/download.To check its source code, go to https://github.com/odoo. It’s released under Lesser General Public License (LGPL).3. ERPNextERPNext is a full-featured business management solution, designed to replace an outdated and expensive proprietary ERP implementation. It includes modules for financial, accounting, CRM, purchasing, sales, inventory, manufacturing, e-commerce, healthcare, and education.ERPNext lets you remain informed and fact-based, enabling you to make timely decisions for your enterprise. To stay ahead of the competition, it adds power, transparency, and control to your growing business.ERPNext helps you with the following:Keep track of all invoices, payments, budgets, and spending.Understand the quantity and availability of products in-stock.Track your Key Performance Indicators (KPIs).Identify open customer queries.Handle the payrolls of employees and also assign tasks and do follow-ups.Maintain a database of all your customers and clients.Decide effective selling price based on products.Remind you of your scheduled maintenance date.Publish your website.ERPNext is built for small and medium businesses. It has a modern interface that follows a simple form-driven approach. All you need to do is enter information in a set of fields and let the application do the rest. The whole application suite is easy to set-up, configure and use.ERPNext self-support service is free if you are installing it on your own servers. But if you want engineers to help and support you, the ERPNext support service is paid.Facts about ERPNext:Its source code is written in Python.It is released under the GPL3 license.To store data, it uses MariaDB database.According to its official website, more than 3,000 companies are using ERPNext.You can request for ERPNext demo on – https://frappe.erpnext.com/request-a-demo.4. TrytonTryton provides you with a complete enterprise solution with scalability, modularity, and security to run your business.Tryton includes the following features:Financial accounting: Records all your business transactions.Sales: Takes follow-up of orders.Inventory and stock: Tracks goods from receipt to delivery and in warehouses.Analytical accounting: Categorizes your expenses and revenue.Purchasing: Takes follow-ups of requestsProject management: Send invoices to customers and track the project’s profit.To maximize the modularity of software, the architecture of the Tryton system consists of three parts:Tryton Server: The main application that provides functionalities to use Tryton, such as installing Tryton, configuring file for Tryton, setting up the database, starting a server, access rights, translation, testing, etc.Database: Database management system such as PostgreSQL.Tryton Client: A desktop or scripting client to communicate with the server.Tryton is not just for business ERPs only. It is a framework that can also be used as a platform for the development of various solutions.Tryton is written in Python and it’s desktop client uses GTK library, available on Linux, OS X, and Windows. To get a free demo of Tryton, go to http://www.tryton.org/download.5. iDempiereiDempiere is an extensive ERP solution that does everything from invoicing to warehouse management. It is suitable for almost all types of small and medium businesses, supporting the modules for ERP, CRM, project management and supply chain management. It was awarded the “Best Open Source software in the year 2015 and 2016 by InfoWorld’s Bossie Awards”.Key features of iDempiere:Other than ERPs, it is also used to build database-driven applications.It contains plug-ins to modify or extend ERP or CRM applications.It has a simple, configurable and powerful reporting format that you can export to several platforms (PDF, word-processor, spreadsheet,etc.).It enables you to add and post attachments or comments for each record. Hence, you can add unstructured information as an attachment that you find important for your team. It improves the traceability of your transactions.It properly manages the Audit Process.More facts about iDempiere:It is written in Java.It supports Linux and windows.Its system requirementsJava OpenJDKPostgreSQL Database or Oracle DatabaseIt released under GPL v2.Like most open-source programs, it depends on community support for troubleshooting.It requires more set-up than some of the other ERP tools mentioned in this article.6. FlectraFlectra is an ultimate business application suite with a powerful modular design covering all essential aspects of your business.Flectra helps you with the following:Organize and manage sales activities.Simplifies HR activities- recruitment process, leaves,etc.Provides customer support for any size of businesses.Manages the accounting process- billing, payments, etc.Tracks meetings and calls.Provides a Content Management System for your blogs, websites, forum, etc.Aligns production with a well-organized process.Automate the marketing process, including client acquisition, upselling, etc.Manages inventory and Point-of-Sale.Possesses project management capabilities.Flectra provides an open and collaborative development of source code. It originated from a fork of the Odoo community. It offers the same modules that Odoo offers, but with a new user interface.Here are some services provided by Flectra:Bug fix and SLA based supportCustom feature development and process enhancementProject planning and solution designTechnical, functional and administration training7. ERP5With its huge set of modules, ERP5 has been adopted worldwide by different sectors of industries- government, banking, healthcare, IT, etc. ERP5 is a suitable solution for you if you are looking for a unified business platform for your company. While most ERPs are business field specific, the ERP5 uses Unified Business Model, to describe its components effectively.ERP5 can be used for- ERP, CRM, CMS, Product Design Management (PDM), Supply Chain Management (SCM), e-commerce, web publication, data analytics, online office suite, e-mail reader, forum, barcode, human resource, email marketing, invoicing, manufacturing, etc. But it can not be used as a reporting tool or a Geographic Information System.More about ERP5:It is based on Python and Zope.It is licensed under GPL.It is suitable for almost any type of businesses.It has an old and classic interface.As ERP5 is converging with other technologies (IoT, Big Data, social communication), you will be able to organize your company better.