I will stop now. Just had to make a point that the system does work well for some.
Medicare
- Thread starter Norwester
- Start date
I will stop now. Just had to make a point that the system does work well for some.
Please don't.
Although a surgeon will make very very high hourly rates when they are billing there are lots of work they don't bill for, and they have very high overheads.
Typically:
- operating a couple of offices with high overheads.
- very high insurance
- down time in travelling between practice, public hospitals and private.
- doing their bit teaching at unis and teaching hospitals
- doing low paid public work
- research
- the list goes on...
In the other thread the taxable income of surgeons is around $300k pa.
Our $4k a year on health insurance is a bargain compared to what we claim
Wow - I'd be lucky to claim a couple of remedial massages! But we still have it and wouldn't be without as what goes around will come around
Tony0008. That sounds about right with the out of pocket/schedule fee.
IMO, Top hospital cover is essential for everyone. I wouldn't be caught without it. My wife had a sudden condition which required surgery. Going through the public system would have been free, but involved a wait. Additionally, we would have had no choice of surgeon, it could and most probably would have been an intern doing the work. Our basic hospital cover did not cover us. We ended up paying for it all to go private, and choose the best surgeon we could find.
Luckily we could pay for it. I would hate to be in a position if i or my family was sick and had no choices because of money/lack of insurance.
Extra's cover on the other hand....we had top until recently. We just didn't use it, so dropped to a level where we now claim more than we spend.....
IMO, Top hospital cover is essential for everyone. I wouldn't be caught without it. My wife had a sudden condition which required surgery. Going through the public system would have been free, but involved a wait. Additionally, we would have had no choice of surgeon, it could and most probably would have been an intern doing the work. Our basic hospital cover did not cover us. We ended up paying for it all to go private, and choose the best surgeon we could find.
Luckily we could pay for it. I would hate to be in a position if i or my family was sick and had no choices because of money/lack of insurance.
Extra's cover on the other hand....we had top until recently. We just didn't use it, so dropped to a level where we now claim more than we spend.....
Am curious what criteria you use when selecting a surgeon. Do they publish some sort of ranking or something?
Im lucky to have 2 friends who are GPs and a mother with a PhD in Nursing who all know who are the people to see. I get to see the specialists who they use and trust.
If I had to pick myself I would be at a bit of a loss.
In cases where I've had to pick myself I've seen 3 specialists (made appts for all 3 from one referral) and then decided who I felt most comfortable with and who's methods and time line worked for me.
I should have said the most experienced surgeon we could find. The internet, various associations etc.
