Anaesthetic Fees

The fee for your anaesthesia is separate from the fees charged by any other doctors caring for you. It is also separate from the fees charged by the institution – hospital, day surgery facility, endoscopy suite, etc where the surgery takes place.

The Anaesthetists at Specialist Anaesthetic Services participate in most of the Private health fund 'Gap Cover' or 'Known Gap' schemes. This simply means that each Private Health Fund that allows co-payments or gaps will pay their maximum rate to the Anaesthetist, thus lowering the co-payment or gap to be charged to the patient. There is a variation in payments by funds due to the different levels of health fund rebates for anaesthetic services.

Your anaesthetic fee will also vary depending on the complexity and duration of the anaesthetic services provided. Variations may include:

• If you have Private Hospital cover, Extras Only, Self-Insured or are an Overseas patient
• If your Private health fund allows co-payments or gaps to be charged under their Gap Cover or Known Gap scheme
• Your procedure type and length of time taken to perform the surgery and anaesthetic
• Your procedure classification – eg. Cosmetic or general
• Your general health and age

If you are covered by the Department of Veterans Affairs, WorkCover or Third Party, fees are set by the Government and you will not have any co-payment or gap.

Informed Financial Consent - Estimate of Fees

Private health funds differ in the coverage and rebates they each provide. This means that often their rebate will not cover the full cost of your anaesthetic, requiring you to pay a co-payment or gap. To ensure you are fully advised of the anaesthetic costs associated with your surgery, please contact our rooms on 8273 5666 to obtain an estimate of your fee, or click here to request an online quote.

When you call our rooms, you will need to provide the following information:

• The Anaesthetist providing the anaesthetic
• The Surgeon performing your surgery
• The date of your surgery
• The surgery you are having and how long the surgery might take as advised by your Surgeon
• Whether you have private hospital cover, Extras Only or are self-insured (Medicare only)

Every endeavour is made to ensure the estimate provided to you is as accurate as possible however, due to unforeseen circumstances, sometimes the complexity and the length taken to perform your surgery may vary. In these events, the cost estimated to you pre-operatively may either increase or decrease.

Self-Insured Patients, Extras Only or Overseas Cover

If you are a Self-Insured patient who does not have private health insurance (Medicare benefits only), Extras Only or Overseas Insurance cover, you will be required to pay the total fee for your anaesthetic prior to surgery. Please contact our rooms on 8273 5666 as soon as you are booked for surgery to obtain the relevant estimate of fees and arrange pre-payment. This fee must be received by our rooms at least three (3) business days prior to the date of your surgery. Payment can be made via credit card over the phone, BPay, internet bank transfer or bank cheque. No personal cheques will be accepted.

To make payment by credit card please click here, or call 8273 5666.

Following your surgery, an itemised account will be submitted online to Medicare (if applicable) and a copy sent to you for your records. Medicare will reimburse you directly. If the patient is under 16 years of age, we are required to forward the itemised account to you for claiming through Medicare. For overseas patients, an itemised account will be forwarded to you for claiming through your Overseas Insurance company.

Cosmetic Surgery

Anaesthesia for Cosmetic surgery is not covered by Medicare or your Health Fund, therefore there are no patient rebates. You will be required to pay the Cosmetic fee for your anaesthetic prior to surgery. Please contact our rooms on 8273 5666 as soon as you are booked for surgery to obtain the relevant fee and arrange pre-payment. This fee must be received by our rooms at least three (3) business days prior to the date of your surgery. Payment can be made via credit card over the phone, BPay, internet bank transfer or bank cheque. No personal cheques will be accepted.

To make payment by credit card please call 8273 5666 or click here.

Terminology

Simplified Ezyclaim Billing – Your Anaesthetist may elect to process your account directly to your Health Fund and Medicare on your behalf with no co-payment or gap. The Health Fund and Medicare will pay your Anaesthetist directly and send a statement to you to this effect.

Co-payment, Out of Pocket Expense or Gap – Your Anaesthetist may charge above what your Health Fund and Medicare will pay. After surgery, the major portion of your invoice will be submitted to your Health Fund and Medicare on your behalf and a separate invoice will be sent to you. This separate invoice is payable by you, the patient. In some circumstances, your co-payment will be required to be paid prior to surgery