Remember too that if you earn more than $50k (or thereabouts) as a single person, or over $100k(or thereabouts) as a couple/family, you will have to pay a Medicare levy equivelant to 1% of your earnings if you DON'T having PHI (so around $1000 if you earn $100k)

For that sort of money, you could get PHI, have all the benefits available to you, and only be out of pocket a few hundred dollars if that. The system is geared so that those on middle incomes and above are penalised for not self-insuring, so if you're over the income threshold, PHI becomes a better option than paying virtually the same amount in Medicare levy at tax time.