16 March 2019 - “Have you got insurance?” It is the first question faced by any patient walking into a hospital emergency room in the United States and is seen as emblematic of a health system that does not serve those who cannot pay.

So why is this question being raised, with increasing frequency, in the emergency rooms and hospital wards of Australia’s highly regarded medical system?

In a warped reversal of the US system, it is actually patients who do have private health insurance who potentially face a nightmare when they enter hospital.

Read Sydney Morning Herald article