It is not uncommon for the rebates provided by Medicare and the Private Health Funds to fall short of the total fee charged by the Anaesthetist. The difference between these fees causes a “gap”, and is an out-of-pocket expense that is met by the patient. There are a variety of reasons why this gap has grown over the past few decades, but the major reason is inadequate indexation of the Medicare (and consequently health fund) rebates over a prolonged period of time.
Many anaesthetists will offer discounted fees in order to reduce the out of pocket expenses for Australian government pensioners. Please discuss this with our rooms if you feel that you are eligible for consideration of this.
Where possible, anaesthetists will endeavour to reduce your fees by using the “known gap” provisions of health funds when applicable. The different policies of health funds and their rebates can mean substantial differences in patient fees for the same operation and the same anaesthetic fee.
If you are to be charged an out-of-pocket expense, a member of our staff will attempt to contact you prior to your operation to provide you with an estimate of fees for your anaesthetic. Given that fees vary with procedure time, it is often impossible to provide an exact figure prior to your surgery.
