Anaesthetic Fees

Anaesthetic fees are separate to any fees which may be payable to the surgeon or the hospital.  MCA anaesthetists are all independent practitioners with their own fee structures.  Any "out-of-pocket" payment you may be required to make will depend on the nature of this fee structure, in addition to the following points:

• the health fund you are in:

There are several different classes of health fund with respect to anaesthetic accounts.  The type of health fund you are in may have a significant impact on how much your "out of pocket" fee will be:

1. Funds such as Medibank Private, BUPA, Australian Unity, HCF, and all AHSA Funds ( if participating in the Access Gap Cover scheme - see link) allow a "known gap" scheme, and generally these funds will have the lowest "out of pocket" fees
2. Funds such as NIB which do not have a "known gap" scheme may result in higher "out of pockets" compared to the funds listed above
3. Funds such as Latrobe Health and Mildura District Hospital Fund all pay significantly lower rebates than other funds, and it is likely these will be associated with the highest "out of pocket" fees

• the procedure you are having:

The fee generally reflects the length and complexity of the surgery you are having.  Surgeries which are a longer duration and more involved (eg cardiac surgery) may be associated with a higher "out of pocket" compared to simpler and shorter procedures (eg bronchoscopy).

• eligibility for concessions:

Patients with a pension or health care concession card may have a reduced "out of pocket" or be entitled to a "no gap" payment for their anaesthetic.  All DVA patients will have no gap payments.

Usually you will receive written or verbal notification before your procedure advising an estimate of your "out of pocket" if one applies, however due to scheduling of operating lists, this is not always possible.  If you require clarification of any likely fees and have not received notice preoperatively, please contact us for further details.