anaesthetic fees
The fee for your Anaesthetist is separate from the fees charged by your surgeon and the hospital at which you are having your surgery/procedure.
Anaesthetists are Specialist Doctors. Their fees are set based on the Relative Value Guide (RVG) which is recommended by Medicare, the Australian Medical Association (AMA), and the Australian Society of Anaesthetists (ASA) .
The fee is generally derived from three components:
- The type of surgery
- The duration of the operation/procedure
- Your general health and and medical conditions you have
Dr Jane Hosking’s aim is to provide an estimate of fees to all patients as early as possible, and at least prior to hospital admission. Please note that although every effort is made to provide accurate estimates, based on the above variables, the final post operation account may differ to the estimate provided.
In emergency cases, informed financial consent prior to anaesthesia may not be possible, in which case Dr Hosking’s staff will contact you as soon as possible after the service to explain fees.
Medicare and / or your Health Fund rebates do not cover the full cost of the anaesthetic fee in most cases.
Some private medical insurance companies publish a schedule that determines the level of reimbursement that they offer to their customers for any given anaesthetic procedure. The companies do not determine the anaesthetic fee itself.
There are variations in the level of reimbursement offered by different insurers and also between different policies offered by the same insurer, so it may be that your private medical insurer will not cover the entire anaesthetic bill. In the event that your insurer does not cover the full fee, you will be required to pay the difference, or “gap”.
This gap will be your responsibility and may need to be paid prior to your surgery.
Providing information about rebates and therefore “gaps” is not always straightforward.
The amount of this “gap” varies greatly between Health Fund insurers.
There are generally three groups of funds.
- Medibank Private, Australian Unity, BUPA, HCF and over 40 Australian Health Service Alliance (AHSA) funds. These funds cover more than 2/3 of the anaesthetic fee (including Medicare rebate) with their ‘known gap’ facility.
- GMHBA, Druids, Federation Health, Cessnock District Health, Latrobe, Mildura Health. These funds pay a lower benefit.
- NIB. This fund is the only fund which does not have a ‘known gap’ facility. and covers less than 1/3 of the anaesthetic fee (including Medicare rebate). Patients insured with NIB will have significantly higher gaps to pay despite the total fee being the same for all cases.
If you have any questions regarding your fees please contact Dr Hosking.
If you have not been provided with a pre-prepared quote for your anaesthetic fee from your surgeon’s secretary, then you will need to contact Dr Hosking’s rooms to obtain an estimate of what your anaesthetic will cost.
It is advisable to do this as early as possible before your operation/procedure date.
If you need to contact Dr Hosking’s secretary and rooms for a quote, please be able to provide:
- The surgeon’s name.
- The date of surgery.
- The type/name of surgery.
- Any major medical conditions/issues/allergies you may have.
- The estimated time of the surgery (if the surgeon has told you).
Each anaesthetic is individualised, yet quotes are normally based on previous experience of the same type of surgery taking an average time. Your final account will only be for the actual time of your operation/procedure.
Payment can be made by credit card over the phone, or by cash or bank cheque/money order in Dr Hosking’s office.
To make a payment over the phone please call Dr Hosking’s rooms on 1300 220 518.
SIMPLIFIED BILLING
If Dr Hosking chooses to process your account directly through simplified billing (without a co-payment) you will not receive an account from her: it will be sent directly to your health fund on your behalf. The relevant bodies will pay Dr Hosking directly and advise you once the account has been paid.
ACCOUNT FOR CO-PAYMENT
The co-payment is the portion of your account which is not covered by either Medicare or your Health Fund. This ‘out of pocket’ or ‘gap’ amount is payable by you. The other portion of the account will be sent directly to the health fund for payment.
PREPAYMENT
If prepayment is requested, you must pay in full your account before the day of surgery. Failure to pay in full prior to surgery may result in the surgery being postponed or cancelled.
Because of NIB’s policy on patient privacy (which includes them conducting a periodic review of all private patient documentation and then auditing and copying such confidential patient information and medical records for their benefit), Dr Hosking is no longer a MediGap Provider.
NIB has now also become the only remaining insurer without a “known gap” scheme. They are also the only insurer who have such terms and conditions.
As a NIB policy holder, the fee for your anaesthesia must be paid prior to your operation. Please complete the request for quote (Heath please add link here) to get a quote and then please contact Dr Hosking to prepay your Anaesthetic fee. You will be able to claim a rebate from Medicare (via NIB) once a receipt is issued.
This decision to no longer use NIB’s MediGap (no-gap) scheme is one Dr Hosking has not taken lightly, and she will continue to direct bill patients from all other insurers. NIB has not consulted with the ASA or AMA regarding their changes, and as such we are unable to provide explanation as to why their scheme has changed, and is so different from all other insurers.
Please feel free to contact Dr Hosking if you have any questions about your anaesthetic itself. Whilst she cannot always speak on the phone at short notice, she will certainly do so when free from operating theatre duties.
To make payment over the phone please call Dr Hosking’s rooms on 1300 220 518
Please complete this secure form for your IFC Quote
Dr Hosking’s rooms can prepare a quote for you. Simply fill in the below fields and they will get back to you. If you have any questions, feel free to ask them in the ‘other’ information field. Your answers are completely secure and confidential.