I should have been more clear: 18,000 was the total cost of the initial quote for treatment. 7,000 comes from medicare general, 2900 from the medicare safety net, and another 8,000 was the quoted out of pocket.
We baulked at that. They reassured us that they would "negotiate a deal for us" and it ended up that they charged us around 1500 out of pocket.
1500 out of pocket is not huge, but on top of everything else its significant. We were sold on the basis that the flexibility would mean that she would be able to be back at work without the radiation therapy impacting too much on her workday. The reality is that she gets to specify a four hour window - exactly the same as the public system. Moreover the admin staff havent been very professional in their communication, particularly around the money, making such a song and dance about how we were getting a really low price, as though we ought to be grateful that they were doing us a favour.
Speaking to other people, it became apparent that the "special negotiated" out of pocket rate of 1500 seems to be the standard that people pay out of pocket. The whole experience seems exploitative. While the medical staff have been great, I know that the staff and facilities in the public system are just as good. It really did come down to the promised flexibility, of being able 5o have set appointment times and to be in and out within 30 minutes, which in the end didn't exist.
My intention was to recommend the public route.
So it wasnt $18,000 at the end, but I would definitely recommend that people look carefully at the public system.
