Surgery fees

This information sheet has been designed to provide you with some general information about fees and expenses related to your admission to hospital. This information should be used as a guide to answer most of your questions. Further detailed information regarding finances should be discussed with Jonathan and his secretary as well as your hospital accounts department.

Out of Pocket Expenses

It is difficult to determine your individual exact out of pocket expenses, as there are many factors that affect the final account. For example, if you have private health insurance, there are differing levels of cover within the insurance funds. Health insurance funds also only cover medical fees up to certain levels. Most surgeons charge fees above what is covered, and almost all patients should anticipate an out of pocket expense. You should check the level of cover that you have and provide this to Jonathan’s secretary to obtain a more reliable estimate. Sports insurance policies are even more variable. Most of these policies require you to pay your accounts first and then send the receipts to the insurance company for reimbursement. This usually means that you will be asked to pay your hospital account on the day of admission. If you are not covered by private health insurance, Workcover or TAC, then the out of pocket expenses may be even higher, despite being able to claim some funds back from Medicare.

You will receive an informed financial consent form regarding the overall costs and out of pocket expenses for Jonathan’s fee when you make your booking for surgery. The surgical fee includes initial follow up visits known as “aftercare”. However, later consultations (generally those more than six weeks after surgery) usually attract a separate charge.

An estimate of the actual hospital expenses can be obtained prior to surgery by speaking to the accounts department of your hospital and quoting a Commonwealth Medical Benefits Schedule (CMBS) item number as well as the expected length of admission, which can be obtained from Jonathan’s rooms. An estimate of the hospital expenses is just that, and only includes the cost of the hospital bed and theatre fee. Other expenses may be incurred and the final CMBS item numbers may vary depending on the findings at surgery.

You can expect a separate fee for the anaesthetist, for which there may be an out of pocket expense as well. Likewise, it is routine for Jonathan to use an assistant. Assistants’ fees are billed at a rate of 20% of the surgeon’s fee and some may have an out of pocket expense as well.