Billing

Billing Information

Generally speaking after your surgeon has booked you in for an operation, your contact details are forwarded to us. If we receive your contact details in time we will send you a fee estimate of costs before your operation. After your operation an invoice would be sent to you. If you are yet to receive a fee estimate and would like one, please CLICK HERE.

Some operations require pre-payment before surgery. For these operations you will receive an invoice before your surgery and full payment is needed in order for the operation to go ahead.
Our anaesthetic fee is based on the Relative Value Guide of Australian Society of Anaesthetists (ASA). The ASA Relative Value Guide follows the Australian Government’s Medical Benefits Schedule; anaesthetists are required to submit accounts that use the Medicare item numbers. (These numbers can look confusing; Medicare often groups procedures under one item number.)

There are separate item numbers for the Anaesthesia Consultation prior to surgery, the type of operation, duration of anaesthesia, interventions like blood transfusion, spinals, epidurals, special monitoring, and modifiers for age and serious medical conditions.

To put this more simply, the anaesthetic fee is based on the type of surgery, the complexity of the anaesthesia, and the time taken.

For more information visit ASA Patient Information.

We accept – Eftpos, credit card, Bpay, cheques, Money Order and cash.

Fee Estimate

Simply fill in the form below for your anaesthesia services fee estimate.

You will be provided with an estimate of fees before your operation, and receive a letter or a telephone call prior to surgery in order to clarify any additional expenses from our administration team.

The fees paid to your anaesthetist are paid by the patient in conjunction with your insurance provider.
Please note that anaesthetist’s fees vary between operating lists.

 
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Billing Frequently Asked Questions

The answer is ‘yes’ for just about all anaesthetic services.
The rebates you receive from Medicare and private health insurers for your anaesthesia are very low. In general, the rebates they will give you for your anaesthesia are about one quarter of the amount they will give you towards the cost of the surgery itself.

Once the rebate is claimed from Medicare and your health fund, the patient pays the balance, which is often known as the ‘gap’ fee.

The only time when there is no out of pocket expense for anaesthetic services is when:

• you are an eligible DVA patient.
• you are an eligible Workcover patient.
• your fees are covered by a third party

‘Top cover’ means it is the most the private insurer is prepared to give you back; it is not a full, comprehensive cover of specialists’ fees. ‘Top cover’ does not cover the full anaesthetic expense. Your ‘top cover’ may allow you to claim a rebate for a portion of the anaesthetic fee but you will still have to pay the balance out of your own pocket.

Most anaesthetists can offer ‘no gap’ only when providing anaesthesia for simple, short-duration medical procedures. Some health funds then tell their members they are ‘no gap doctors’, without saying this is only for some cases. ‘No gap’ does not apply universally to all anaesthetic services. Unfortunately, for all but a small number of anaesthetic services, you still have out of pocket expense to pay. Please call us if you require more information.

Because the Medicare and private insurance rebates for anaesthesia are very low. They cover a small percentage of the ASA fee.
For more information please see the ASA website.

To get an online estimate of your anaesthetic fee please click here,
or contact us during office hours on (07) 33597011
We aim to provide an estimate to all patients prior to their operation. Sometimes we cannot do this because do not receive your details from the surgeon’s rooms in time.
If you do not receive an estimate prior to your surgery, please contact us.

Please note that sometimes the actual fees can be different from the estimate you received. This is because of factors outside the control of the anaesthetist, such as unexpected length of the operation, unanticipated complexity of the surgery, procedural time taken by other health providers e.g. radiographers, pathologists. The anaesthetist still has to keep you safely anaesthetised despite these changes!