Private Hospital Surgery Bills on Top of Bills?

immrnonamehello on 26/11/2021 - 16:48

Recently had a situation that required (non-urgent) surgery, public waitlist was/is long so the estimate was 12 months and more.

The situation was really hard on my mental health so decided to go private despite having no private hospital cover (I'm younger than 30) and no wait.

Anyway, the quote I received was around $2k from the actual surgeon, and there was a second page that looked almost exactly the same as the first page which apparently was for the hospital itself, found this out the hard way, so it became $4k but paid to different people.

On top of that the anesthesia was not quoted, so had to pay for that without knowing it prior, a different company called me directly to ask for my credit card for this.

Now the private hospital is sending me a bill saying that the quote was wrong and wanting me to pay ~$600 extra? Is this legal? I had never dealt with something like this before but it sounds a bit like bait and switch to me? Is this common with medical bills?

TLDR:
Went for surgery privately and there was a lot of extra changes not quoted, now hospital wants $600 cause "quote was wrong". Do I just pay it?

Health & Beauty

Comments

  • MS Paint on 26/11/2021 - 16:52
    +6

    Private hospital procedures without PHI can get very ugly.

    You got a quote from the surgeon but did you personally request quotes from the hospital, anaesthetist and anyone else the surgeon said would be involved?

    • MrBear on 27/11/2021 - 14:18
      +2

      Private hospital procedures can get expensive even with PHI.

      (he got the quote for the doctor + hospital, just didn't read it carefully. he didn't get a quote from the anaesthetist)

  • deme on 26/11/2021 - 16:54
    +6

    Imagine if Liberals stopped keep cutting medicare.

    • poboy on 26/11/2021 - 22:06
      +1

      But Labour!

      • try2bhelpful on 26/11/2021 - 22:53
        +2

        I know. The guys who, twice, introduced Universal Health Cover to Australia. The Liberal party that sold off Medibank and then introduced Government support for Private Health Insurance.

    • Tommyaka on 27/11/2021 - 09:45

      Uh imagine if OP went through the public system?…

      Medicare doesn't control how much a private hospitals charges their patients.

      • deme on 27/11/2021 - 10:39

        You are soooooo close, yet you can't see that if Liberals stopped keep cutting medicare OP wouldn't have gone private.

        • try2bhelpful on 27/11/2021 - 11:11

          They know getting rid of Medicare is, incredibly, unpopular so have decided on death by a thousand cuts.

          We have private health insurance so we, usually, opt for private patient in a public hospital if we can. The public hospital gets the money and we don’t get so ripped off.

          We have a brilliant GP who seems to be able to find us the best access to specialists. He isn’t cheap but he has, considerably, cut down our waiting times.

  • Drakesy on 26/11/2021 - 16:58
    +5

    Unfortunately that's how it is
    When i had my nose surgery carried out i received 3 different invoices
    $2k from the surgeon
    $1.7k from the anaethetist
    another ~$800 from the hospital for the day surgery rate.

    all up $4500 of which ~50% was covered by Private health.

    I think your costs are as expected for a day surgery.

    Thats the price you pay for not waiting for public.

    • vinni9284 on 26/11/2021 - 17:27
      +2

      This!
      I reckon the Dentist fees are starting to take over Hospital. 1 x root canal = $4K.
      Many ppl flock OS to get their teeth done. I think I will have a paid offset holiday for free + bills compared to local.

    • Viospeed on 26/11/2021 - 19:19

      Damn the anesthetist gets almost as much as the surgeon?

      • Drakesy on 26/11/2021 - 19:27
        +1

        In many cases anaesthetists can earn more than a surgeon as surgeons are specialised, anaesthetists can do multiple types of surgeries

        But yes they charge similar amounts, i'd imagine the liability/insurance would be huge.

      • resubaehtgnolhcs on 26/11/2021 - 21:29
        +3

        anaesthetist's job is to keep you alive!

      • terrys on 27/11/2021 - 11:38
        +2

        It a well known fact that while a surgeon thinks they're God, the anaesthetist knows it.

    • brendanm on 26/11/2021 - 21:57

      Was this for deviated septum?

      • Drakesy on 26/11/2021 - 23:33

        bingo

        • brendanm on 27/11/2021 - 09:29

          I also have this, great to get a summary of cost, cheers 👍 Will have to book it in.

  • Miss B on 26/11/2021 - 17:22
    +2

    Private hospital admission charges can be complicated. Did you ask the surgeon about all of the costs involved, or just their fees? They should have let you know to check with the hospital and anyone else involved who would be billing you, so you could confirm their fees. It doesn't sound like they explained the costs very well.

    It doesn't sound like the fees are particularly unusual. But you should have been made aware of them before your surgery.

    https://www.ombudsman.gov.au/How-we-can-help/private-health-…

  • meowsers on 26/11/2021 - 17:27
    +1

    Informed financial consent is a thing — and it's the hospitals responsibility to do it. I would go back hard on them.

    • MS Paint on 26/11/2021 - 17:33
      +1

      Is there generally a clause in these advising that the fees may vary?

      • meowsers on 26/11/2021 - 17:38

        There is but quotes are generally pretty reliable especially if OP had one. The next step is to discuss with the hospital.

        Then if unsuccessful the ombudsman like Miss B Said.

        If it's a for profit hospital aka Ramsay health, it may be harder to deal with than say a not for profit aka Mater.

  • morse on 26/11/2021 - 17:38

    Apart from the extra $600 this all sounds pretty typical. The anaesthetist free is always extra and rarely mentioned up front I have no idea why, but that’s the way it works. I wouldn’t pay the extra $600 and if they you pursue you for it make a complaint to the relevant health ombudsman in your state. Retrospectively upping the price is not okay.

  • brendanm on 26/11/2021 - 17:48
    +1

    Have had this exact thing happen, called the hospital, told them it wasn't my problem and there was actually no extra time taken, they removed the magical extra charge. They had added more on for extra surgery time, when no extra time was actually used, both my own calculations as well as the times from the surgeon.

  • Jules855 on 26/11/2021 - 18:09
    +1

    What does your quote say? Medical procedures don't always go to plan and extra costs can be associated with this. I would be very surprised if the quote didn't mention that it's an estimate only and additional charges may be incurred to make sure you are cared for appropriately. You need to communicate with the hospital and figure out what the extra charge is and whether it was appropriately charged.

  • pharkurnell on 26/11/2021 - 18:47
    +1

    Yes you just pay it.

  • try2bhelpful on 26/11/2021 - 18:53

    It probably is worth querying to find out what it was for.

    One of the reasons I'm wary of going private, especially, without private health cover, is if it goes wrong they will book you in and you have to pay room fees until they can find a public bed for you.

    My man waited until he could get an angiogram in the public system for, precisely, that reason, The surgeon warned him if it went pear shaped his day procedure would get him admitted.

    The last time I had a private hospital procedure they got me to sign an informed financial consent document and told me it would be an estimate. I got a bill for extra afterwards as well.

  • avoidfullprice on 26/11/2021 - 19:24

    Do I just pay it?

    Yes.

    Checked this out? https://www.ombudsman.gov.au/How-we-can-help/private-health-insurance/private-health-insurance/informed-financial-consent only for people with PHI sorry

  • screensaver on 26/11/2021 - 19:29

    How much did you get back from medicare for the 2 doctors

  • hasselbladsnapper on 26/11/2021 - 21:15

    Had a hernia operation, was pre quoted by the health fund, the surgeon, anaesthetist, and hospital - Calvery. The MB funds typically have agreed charges with all these medicos and hospital. Had an outstanding experience, and no extras except for a script for Tramadol which I did not need to use. What did surprise me was the actual hospital charge was about the same as the surgeon, guess it was for the op room and overnight care. All up cost around $4.5k - top end professor of surgery, and in within 2 weeks.

    Still after decades of private health fund payments, one would expect a bit of a discount to the normal rack rates, and a good outcome!.

  • Wizz on 26/11/2021 - 23:16

    You can claim back part of the anesthetist bill on Medicare, also part of doctors fee if not already taken into account

  • AndyC1 on 27/11/2021 - 10:29

    A quote is an estimate, if it did not say "fixed price" somewhere then you are SOL and have to pay.

  • OzHunterNSW on 27/11/2021 - 14:07
    -4

    You are the one who sought, and undertook this "non-vital" surgery (in a time when our health services are stretched to the limit).

    Without knowing what this specific need was - I am left to presume it was for "beautification" purposes.

    Bypassing other options, bc they could not adjust to your need, I presume, like buying shoes, you just could not wait.

    Surgery does not have Back Fridays, or Boxing Day Sales.

    Pay up

    • immrnonamehello on 27/11/2021 - 14:46
      +1

      was for "beautification" purposes

      Was a gut problem. Sort of insulting to just assume someone's surgery was for beautification, don't you think?
      And who mentioned black friday sales? It was a legit question because I had never had a surgery before, not because I don't want to pay. I don't know if you work in health but defensive much?
      Oh covid was stretching our health system so suddenly all other health problems went away and don't require hospitals anymore - magic!

      • screensaver on 27/11/2021 - 15:24

        just posting here makes you a target. They twist things so far out of whack just to get in a nasty comment. Its par for the course. Some keyboard cowards have got nothing better to do. And theres a lot of them. they roam in packs

    • Juice-Wa on 01/12/2021 - 09:23

      It's called elective surgery, and covers anything that isn't going to kill you in the immediate future. I just had joint surgery to fix a painful debilitating issue (which was elective) and I don't think covid cases needed my orthopedic surgeon, operating theater or anesthesiologist that I paid for in a private hospital. Please educate yourself before you say something so inconceivably incorrect.

  • SydneySwan on 28/11/2021 - 23:10

    I have received unexpected additional invoices for services that won't quoted on private hospital procedures a couple of times. I always claim the medicare rebate and pass this on to the service involved. I just explain to them it wasn't quoted for, they have received the Medicare rebate and I am not paying anymore. So far they have given up but as the gap continues to widen between Medicare rebates and doctors charges I expect this tactic will be harder to implement.

  • Juice-Wa on 01/12/2021 - 09:26

    Check your quotes, usually they say that you will need to pay for anesthesia separately because their technically another business outside of the surgeon and the hospital.

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