Dreamy

Well, okay it's a rhetorical question.

We had a trip to A&E yesterday - nothing too serious, Himself has managed to badly fracture a finger (go on, you can all laugh - we did)

When we rolled up, they asked if we were just using medicare or if we had PHI. Medicare, I declared.

Himself went off to be triaged and x-rayed and then finally called through to see the doctor. I thought he was capable of managing this alone so I just waited and read my kindle. After about another hour or so, he shouted me through while they plastered him up (some weird backslab thing, looked a bit like overkill for a finger but hey ho)

So, he may need surgery to pin it but they're going to try and use traction on it first, can he turn up at the physio department on Monday and then make an appointment to see the consultant a week on Tuesday, with a new X-ray.

Wow, thinks I. That's bloody impressive.

Then Himself tells me that he told the nurse he had private health insurance.

So.. how bad is this likely to get? Can we still opt out and go back to just going through Medicare or has that ship sailed? Can we still ask for no-gap or is there no chance of that either?

I was tired, hadn't eaten for 9 hours and my blood glucose was through the floor so I didn't think of asking any of these questions at the time

Bloody men.

Jon77

Us blokes hey, we can't all be super human get everything right 100% of the time women

Surprised you didn't give him a lecture on it just being a scratch and to get over it, god if men had to go through the pain of birth, stop being such a baby, god this is as bad as 'man flu' blah, blah de ******* blah lol Then you can tell all your lady friends about how pathetic he was over your morning bitching session, sorry I mean morning coffee session. I am surprised any men go to the doctors for anything at all with the attitudes some women have to male health problems, and men NEED to go to the docs more and should be encouraged not discouraged! But that's another issue.

Give the guy a break, people sometimes say the wrong thing / do the wrong thing (men and women). You were tired and he was probably a little stressed as well (although he might not admit that).

Bermudashorts

I think she was just asking could she back out of the private treatment.

I don't know the answer Dreamy, but I frequently remind Mr BS that if one of us ever has an accident he is not to declare we have PHI as it could bankrupt us.

Dorothy

When you checked in the ED clerk would have asked whether you elected to go private or public. If he had said that he elected private she (the clerk) would have asked for your private health details as well as your Medicare card and he or you would have signed a statement saying you elected private cover. Himself just telling the nurse that he has private insurance shouldn't make any difference. He would have had to hand over the insurance details and sign the election form.

But to answer your original question...No. Men should not be allowed to be alone with the doctor. Ever. My husband takes my son to the radiologist for his annual chest x-ray for pectus excavartum a couple of months ago. "Don't forget to pick up the films for the doctor to compare with last year's x-ray" I say as he's leaving. "No worried, I'll remember". Later that day I say "Where's the films?" "Oh, was I supposed to get the actual x-ray? I only got a report." So now guess who has to go to the radiology clinic to pick up films and deliver to the doctor.

Dreamy

No, I was too busy rushing him down to A&E while he was still conscious.

He's already got one


Himself has now been fully informed about the whole 'PHI doesn't actually cover everything' situation - I blame myself for this gap in his education.

Phew. Thanks Dorothy. In that case I'm super impressed at the speed he's being treated!

lol - you should know better!!

Hebe

My husband has the opposite, Pectus Carinatum.

Dorothy

Freaks! Both of them.

Hebe

Thats what I say - when he is really getting on my nerves I coo at him!!!!!

You can actually get your hand right under his rib cage - perhaps I will do that next time and pull

BadgeIsBack

I like visiting medical facilities and being made a fuss off.

Good time to get out a book and lounge around, too.

I was at the big one in Melbourne - lots of attractive nurses and doctors, too.

Cheetah7

I was in ED back in Easter and the receptionist said 'Do you have private health insurance?'

Mr PP was just bursting to say 'Yes we do' - there is something odd about a mans burning desire to tell people about private health insurance, god knows what it is but the need to declare to every man and his dog and receptionist is rather strange.

'Yes I do have private health insurance, but this is pre existing so excluded for the now and they probably wouldnt cover ED visits anyway' I said to her, which was enough for her to tick on the box 'no'.

'But we do have insurance' Mr PP said quite upset.

I explained yet again it is easier to either say its pre existing or just say 'no'.

Bermudashorts

You are absolutely spot on, I feel sure that in spite of my frequent coaching Mr BS would still not be able to resist mentioning it if the time came.

Broad Shoulders

Don't worry, I sewed this reminder to the inside of underpants

itigo

When I was in A and E, the nurses asked me that question when I had had 20mg morphine over 4 hours. One nurse coached me through it. I was advised to say yes just because the public wards at our hospital are quite scary. Also I needed immediate emergency treatment which I got from my specialist within 2 hours of him being contacted. He dropped his list for me. Even he said if I had gone public, noone would have pulled their finger out and it could have been a worse outcome, because noone really knew what was going on as it was rare. As soon as he heard, he realised what was going on and acted.

So I guess it kind of depends on why you're there in the first place. More serious and I'd always say private, but yes, broken finger, I'd say public.

Dorothy

That may or may not have been the case whether you chose public or private. Emergency treatment would always be done emergently by the on call consultant. And they will drop an elective patient to do an emergency public patient. His telling you that noone would have pulled their finger out is quite possibly because he gets a higher rate of pay if you elect private than if you elect public.

BadgeIsBack

If you say you have private, and you don't have enough or the right cover, does this come out in some sort of billing or reconciliation phase?

I'm aware that saying Yes is bad news if you then get 'fingered' for your gap.