Private health insurance

Hi Glynnis, do you still have your Private Surgeon?? and do you see them yearly? Just wondering if you can do your yearly with them, obviously it would cost you, but then ask in the event it happened again who'd they recommend. 

My Surgeon is private, I've had him 6 yrs and 2 diagnosis, i did treatment private but a year after I finished I did a Mastectomy/diep flap through public as he works there too, so I kept him and a Plastic Surgeon he works with and no out of pocket. 

Melinda xo

Glynnis, I actually did the iselect around tax time. I was with NIB and now I am with HCF, basic hospital and extras. I'd definitely ask them, as then you can just do your normal appts with them and if anything ever happened you'll have some recommendations. You may never need them again either xx

@Glynnis, I am a public patient with other preexisting medical conditions including an overlap of three different autoimmune diseases. Whilst in hospital for multiple tests to establish the extent of internal damage (heart, lungs, kidneys etc), from one of them, the breast cancer turned up in a chest CT scan. Straight away, that is that same day, my rheumatologist handed me over to oncology and a breast surgeon. He said that he would have to then take a back seat and that the cancer took priority. The next few days was a flurry of every test you can think of, biopsies, bone scans, you name it I had it. Cost to me...$00.00. I had a port put in and chemo started within two weeks from diagnosis. Surgery was booked and in place to happen as soon as the chemo was finished. Continuing Herceptin for another 17 cycles altogether. Yes, I didn't get to choose my surgeon or my oncologist, but if I had, how would I have known who to choose? During my AC chemo, I spent a total of 56 days in hospital due to severe side effects as well as it interacting with my other medical issues. After my bilateral mastectomy, the day after Anzac day, I spent 11 days in ICU and then another 5 days on the general ward. Cost to me $00.00. I have had some charges for drugs to take before my chemo, as well as the Neulasta injections I had to have for the neutropaenia. These were covered under the PBS and the most I paid was $38.80 per script. I am now also having physiotherapy as well as hydrotherapy, again as a public patient. Cost to me $00.00. I am very grateful for the treatment I have received and which I am entitled to. This is what I (previously), and my husband, still currently pays taxes and the Medicare Levy for.

I think it depends where you live, what your intentions are regarding 'elective' surgeries and how patient you are. I've had two BC treatments ten years apart. I've had to pay for a pet scan and bone density scans and discharge meds when I've been admitted to hospital. Thats it.
Personally, private health would not have been helpful as we have a lack of choice here anyway.

@Glynnis, you're welcome. I think if you're in the public system, and the medical care is not deemed urgent or life threatening, then, certainly, you'll have to wait your own sweet time. Stuff like hip replacements and even hysterectomies, (if the condition not urgent, but nuisance or quality of life only being affected), and such like stand in the queue and wait their turn. However my care has been excellent, even although both my surgeon and oncologist are not, shall I say, of the warm and fuzzy variety, or the arms around the shoulders with gentle pats on the back kind. However, I haven't interacted with them for those qualities. So long as my oncologist knows her stuff, (she does), and my surgeon knew how to use her knife and fork (she did). I have no quarrel. My husband of 38 years has also received excellent care in the public system after suffering a massive heart attack 10 years ago. he basically dropped dead in the car, but that's another story. He was in ICU for two weeks, general ward for another four weeks, stent, cardiac rehab, defribrillator/ pacemaker plus a new one when the battery need replacing as well as all the other stuff with it, cost us zero for hospital charges. He pays for his meds, and his cardiologist charges him medicare rates...what a lovely man... So, at the end of the day, if the shit hits the fan, the public system is as good as private. in my view.