Waiting for my E-bay purchase which was due today but hasnt arrived from Sydney (was supposedly sent 1 week ago)! Wife is going to contact the seller bit reckons he hasnt got a tracking number when he sent it. I think he just hasnt sent it as I won a bid on $300 worth of gaming equipment for $26
Its not worth the money you pay as when you eventually need it, it covers SFA.
My parents pay top dollar and still are out of pocket thousandsā¦
No wonder less people are getting health cover.
1 Like
Yeah the Health funds not Big on spinal fusions anymore. Really need top cover for it to be included.
Can you go public and try your luck? I imagine the waitlist is longer than the 12 months with the Health find.
1 Like
Thatās disgraceful. And Iām sorry to hear about your condition. Hopefully the boys have some massive wins next year to keep those endorphin levels high.
1 Like
Thanks guys. Itās farking disgraceful. The waiting list is 18 months and the surgeon I have is top notch so want to stay with him.
Iām fortunate that family will chip in. But still out of pocket $30K. The pain is too great and Iāve tried everything else so no other option.
Insurance is up there with banking as one of the greatest rip-offs of the modern era. For shame.
5 Likes
So the $30K is once you have to wait out the 12 months?
Would you pay the extra $20K now and move on with life?
Or wait another 6 months and get it free at the public?
It is disgracefulā¦ considering how much you pay a fortnight x years before you need itā¦
1 Like
I thought that was for now.
18months public? My hernia was less than 6months public waitā¦
No chance for any injury connection to work? Years ago a colleague got comp for a work- related back injury, which, I understand was a contributory factor ( not the underlying cause)
1 Like
Yep 18 months. Plus I really want the surgeon I have so needs to be private.
$40-50K total now. Be about $20K in 12 months AFTER health insurance rebates.
Mum and dad are helping out so out of pocket $30K.
Wearing a police belt and running after scummy crooks didnāt help. But doubt Iād get up on compo.
Iāll confess, I used to sell spinal implants.
Itās not for me to ask what the procedure is, but Iāll assume I have a bit of an idea.
The cost of the products would be around $10k-$20K, the cost for the surgeon and anaesthetist would be significant also, plus the Hospital fees to cover nurses, OR time, bed and some delicious mealsā¦it adds up really fast.
We all hope we donāt need any surgery, but if you do, and if itās covered, i think insurance is worth it. Itās getting expensive tho. The more people that opt out, the more those that stay in have to pay.
Getting the surgeon/Hospital you want/like is often very important to patients as well, which the public hospital system doesnāt offer.
1 Like
Commiserations, that is terrible news.
I blame the Tories for moving us closer to the US system every year since Fraser was elected with the pledge to ādefend and extend Medibankā
3 Likes
Private health insurance is possibly the biggest swindle in the country
Privatise all the profitable operations - hips, knees, births, let them pick only the healthy patients who probably wonāt have any complications.
Leave all the difficult, risky operations and difficult patients for the public purse.
Itās disgraceful - we all pay, insurance mobs pocket billions.
5 Likes
āBlack Fridayā.
GTFO of my country.
8 Likes
While I would rather have a totally free, much better public health system, I am glad I have the health insurance I do.
Costs us about $300 per month which gives top medical cover with a $500 excess.
I recently had to have my gall-bladder removed, and I chose a large private hospital in Ballarat. Trip to emergency, no waiting then Three days in hospital being diagnosed, two weeks out patient treatment, then in hospital over-night for surgery. Total cost to Medical Fund over $8000, my cost was $500 excess.
Friend had similar issue at around the same time. He went to Ballarat Base Hospital, with a 6 hour wait in emergency, after tests, sent home with pain-killers, waited six weeks before he could have operation done. Still cost him a few hundred dollars for the extras that Medicare doesnāt cover.
Now you get good care at Ballarat Base, but it beats me that the Private Hospital has better staff ratios, immediate access to specialists, and an emergency dept, which cost nothing if referred by your GP, and $175 if not, has more Doctors and more Nurses on duty. My room was more like a Hotel Room and the food was OK. Sure the God Squad want to visit, but you can say no.
This Private Hospital makes a profit, and I just donāt understand why one can be efficient and the other maybe not.
2 Likes
As an aside, my ex husbands company made, amoung other things, screws and attachments for medical procedures. They were colour coded so they surgeons knew what went where.