Public or Private (please help!!)
After diagnosis of High Grade DCIS with Mastectomy required. My husband and I are both on the aged pension, and have struggled to maintain private health insurance. I live in a rural area which has n...
Forum Discussion
Hi @maddi - It sounds like @CRM had a 'good deal' - so her surgeon may be the one to try & get your appointments with? Do you have someone to accompany you to all your appointments (as a 2nd set of ears and emotional support?) It is all such a whirlwind thing - it can be difficult to remember everything that is said. Even record the conversation as well, for later referral!
I had my surgery done private & ended up about $6000 out of pocket (with medications etc), which really surprised me - but all my mammograms, ultrasound, biopsies etc were either free or 'reasonable' gaps to $80. My main gap was my NSW surgeon (but he was the best) & then I was surprised that my hospital pathology wasn't gap free - there was a $500 gap there! And the hospital excess of $200 plus another $400 fee as it wasn't on my health fund's list of approved hospital! (The excess was just the 'one-off', no matter how often I was admitted within a 12 month period - not that I used it again!)
Being rural - Vic also should have some sort of 'assisted Patient Transport System' set up - where you fill in some forms & get your GP &/or surgeon to sign them & fill in their bit - and the Gov reimburses you a specific number 'cents per kilometre' to offset the cost of travel. They also subsidise any accommodation you may need for your appointments/treatment as well. There is often a time limit of 12 months to claim on these, so well worth getting some copies printed off & taking one with you every time you go to Melbourne (2 copies if staying in paid accommodation as well.)
When I had my radiation in the public system for no cost, I 'lived in' at the hospital in their Rotary Lodge (in NSW) and the cost was minimal & I didn't have to drive 1.5hrs each way every day for treatment. I almost treated it as a holiday, until my husband fell over & broke a rib - then HE was the patient, not me! grrrr
Don't be afraid to ask the surgeon & other specialists what their gap fee is & if as a pensioner they would 'waive it' for you. If you don't ask - you don't get! Some of the specialists/surgeons also work in the public system as well as private, so have the 2 operating lists. Sometimes waiting for public with the surgeon of your choice 'may' take a little longer - but a week or two is unlikely to make any difference to your diagnosis - but could save you heaps of $$.
take care & all the best with your decision making. xxxx
I had my surgery done private & ended up about $6000 out of pocket (with medications etc), which really surprised me - but all my mammograms, ultrasound, biopsies etc were either free or 'reasonable' gaps to $80. My main gap was my NSW surgeon (but he was the best) & then I was surprised that my hospital pathology wasn't gap free - there was a $500 gap there! And the hospital excess of $200 plus another $400 fee as it wasn't on my health fund's list of approved hospital! (The excess was just the 'one-off', no matter how often I was admitted within a 12 month period - not that I used it again!)
Being rural - Vic also should have some sort of 'assisted Patient Transport System' set up - where you fill in some forms & get your GP &/or surgeon to sign them & fill in their bit - and the Gov reimburses you a specific number 'cents per kilometre' to offset the cost of travel. They also subsidise any accommodation you may need for your appointments/treatment as well. There is often a time limit of 12 months to claim on these, so well worth getting some copies printed off & taking one with you every time you go to Melbourne (2 copies if staying in paid accommodation as well.)
When I had my radiation in the public system for no cost, I 'lived in' at the hospital in their Rotary Lodge (in NSW) and the cost was minimal & I didn't have to drive 1.5hrs each way every day for treatment. I almost treated it as a holiday, until my husband fell over & broke a rib - then HE was the patient, not me! grrrr
Don't be afraid to ask the surgeon & other specialists what their gap fee is & if as a pensioner they would 'waive it' for you. If you don't ask - you don't get! Some of the specialists/surgeons also work in the public system as well as private, so have the 2 operating lists. Sometimes waiting for public with the surgeon of your choice 'may' take a little longer - but a week or two is unlikely to make any difference to your diagnosis - but could save you heaps of $$.
take care & all the best with your decision making. xxxx