ABCDiamond

That's the one I'd do. Called self insured

I did that in the UK too, paid £2,000 for an operation in 1996.

Pommiebird

I wrk in the private health sector and if I had a dollar for evertime I heard this rant.....I would no longer have to work!

IMHO working in a private hospital and not having private health insurance. If you are realtivly young fit and healthy and have a very good GP there is no need for it. However if you have a family history of cancer or cardiac problems then it is worth every cent.

If you ever need to go to a cardiac cath lab the costs are phenomenal in excess of $50000.

If you arrive at the hospital where i work without health insurance and you need to go tothe Cath Lab we will ask your next of kin for $25000 deposit...if you do not have this (and lets face it not many do) We stabilise the patient and send them onto the public hospital. The probability of you making it to the cath lab alive in the public hospital is slim to none! The only duty of care the hospital has to provide is to stabilise the patient!

Many of the Drs I work with would treat a terminal ca patient with minimal if not no out of pocket expenses. Not having insurance when you have Ca and being a private patient would cost a fortune. The drugs alone are very expensive.

The problem is health Insurers do not explain their policies and people do not read the fine print. Its only when they are in a very stressful situation (IE a loved one who is seriosly ill)someone (like me) is left to explain the facts to them.

jad n rich

Exactly, all emergency will do is stabilise you, then you go on the wait lists for the rest of the treatment.

One of R's brickies had stomach cancer, the wait for public hosp treatment was way too long, he went private by his wife remortaging the house.

There was a poster on here recently had cancer, said same thing, too long a wait, every day counts, she went private.

Good honest post.

Pommiebird

Thank you.

At the end of the day a private hospital is a business. Its not all about patient care as most people think...its about the bottom line period! Its sad but true.

Standard of care is always higher in a public hospital.

Less nurses more patients = more profit.

At the end of the day a public hospital is government funded they are not there to make money they are there for patient care.

Private hospitals are businesses they are there to make money which they do and a lot of it. Corners are frequently cut in private hospitals, less staff training, more patients to less staff. The only people it affects dramatically is the patients care. Thankfully or maybe not they are never aware of the cutbacks affecting them as nurses are very wonderful people!

IvanM

I have 3 wisdom teeth coming out soon. Top private covers hospital costs. Dentist charges 1400 of which I get 500 back. Gap on anaesthetist is $450. Medicare pays more back than private on anaesthetics!

I could also wait for an op for a couple of years on public dental if I am eligible!

If we want cheaper doctors then we will have to pay more taxes to train more and force the colleges to train more. The current system highlights the true cost of medicine.

Margaret3

EXACTLY!

I work in both public and private and agree with everything you have said, however i also agree with peeps about the waiting times, we have starte in the public to put the days the patients have been waiting next to thier name on the theatre list, must say i was shocked , some poor buggers waiting a year for treatment, and the amount of times patients are cancelled in unbeeelievable, i do think the public hosps here need better managers to kick some ass and get things running more smoothly!

Pommiebird

We seem to be getting a fair few public patients thru at the moment if they have waited over a year for a major surgery. Which is a great idea. Unfortunatly this time of year we have relatively no beds as it so busy last week we were on bypass for most of it. People here on the Gold Coast have more money than sense...they are willing to pay $200 for a basic consultation on a sunday for a sore throat they have had all week!!! It makes me want to scream **** off and wait for your GP on monday your wasting our time. Unfortunatly money talks and bullshit walks!

fish.01

Everyone else seems to have understood the point you were making so I feel dumb....are you just saying don't go to a private hospital if you have a serious emergency without private insurance?

Pommiebird

Don't feel dumb. I can assure you unless you your not alone in not understanding the system.

No i am not saying don't go to a private hospital, just be prepared to shell out shedloads. You can ask for quotes and make an informed decision. You just need to remember everyone is going to send you bills. Everything is billed separately - pathology, xray/scans ct or ultrasounds, anaesetics etc etc.

I have seen the devastating affect a $20000 bill can have on families when there loved ones been seriously ill and the family do not have the money...its heartbreaking.

My advice is ask...do not be afraid to ask. Get quotes from everyone, hospital, specialist etc etc just be informed. So you can make the right choice for you or a family member.

Shit i sound like some sort of ad or public information service!! This far to serious for me!!

IvanM

The big issue with public hospitals is that there is not a bottomless pit of cash and resources have to be rationed. With private the markets ration the treatment. In public it is administrators and politicians. We tend to vote out the politicians who are honest enough to raise taxes for health.

The pressures on public health will only get greater as the population ages. This is an issue no one really wants to stick their head out about and deal with as it involves raising taxes. I hope we realise before it is too late.

itxrd

Wow great to have someone with some real knowledge of the system. Thanks for sharing pommiebird. I was thinking of not bothering with private (young family with 2 babies) but think I might go for it now. You just never know. Thanks again for posting on here

IvanM

As you know they are obliged to provide estimated costs if asked.

Pommiebird

Kids normally do ok with the Health Insurers and Drs minimal gaps IME.

Always good to have for kids cos of tonsils,grommits, adenoids etc.

Thanks for the thanks but its not needed....If people were more informed and didn't have to deal with stuff they don't understand in times of great stress it makes my job a helluva lot easier!

plantpot

My daughter needed a GA when she had dental treatment,,,,without the hospital cover it would have cost double, we got 2400 covered and the anaesthetic fee of 90.

We never saw that coming!..

lonndongeek

SWMBO was in hospital (private patient) for a couple of days recently. It was our first experience of hospital over here as opposed to back in the UK on the NHS.

Her wrist tag had our address on it as well as her name/date of birth. Apparently this is so that the various specialists know that the bill is being sent to the right place!