The anaesthetic fee will be partly covered by Medicare and partly covered by Private Health insurance, this will often leave a ‘gap’ that is your responsibility to pay. The size of this gap will be determined by many factors such as the type of surgery, duration of surgery, complexity of anaesthesia, special procedures performed, preexisting medical conditions and your postoperative course. The reason there is a gap between the anaesthetic fee and Medicare and private health rebates is essentially because the medicare rebate is politically determined and has nothing to do with the actual value of the service, in addition private health care funds are companies that are profit driven and also will not pay the true cost of specialist care. If you would like an estimate of your fees you can request a quote from the rooms. This will only be an approximation of your final bill and your final bill may be higher or lower than the quote depending on the medical care that you require. Otherwise every effort will be made to inform you about your fees with an informed financial consent form, however if you have any other questions please contact the Old Vic rooms on 03 6331 5299.
