While we will ensure you have everything you need for your procedure and stay at our hospital, it is your responsibility to make arrangements to cover your hospital account.
The following is a guide to assist you. If you have any queries or concerns regarding your hospital costs, please get in touch with our Admissions staff on 02 9598 0380 or info@waratahprivate.com.au
Your hospital account includes an accommodation fees, theatre fees, prostheses, consumables and other chargeable items where applicable. You will be provided with an Informed Financial Consent with an estimate of expenses before your admission. All charges are payable prior to or on admission. There may be some costs, for example mobility aids and equipment, that are incurred during your stay that are not covered by Insurance. These costs are to be paid prior to discharge. During your stay, you may be prescribed medications which are not covered by Insurance. This may include any medication that you were taking prior to your admission and medications prescribed to you on discharge. Charges for medication not covered by your health fund will be invoiced to you directly and will need to be paid directly to the Pharmacy prior to discharge. In the event that you require an Ambulance or Patient Transport to another facility or appointment, the cost may not be covered by an Insurer or Medicare. You will be informed of these costs prior to our staff booking transport, unless in the case of a medical emergency. You may incur costs from other service providers in addition to your hospital costs. Medical specialist fees are not included in the Hospital fees and this may include fees for the surgeon, assistant surgeon, anaesthetist and other medical officers. Please contact your Doctor’s rooms for further information. Services such as pathology and radiology will be billed separately to your hospital account and may be claimable through Medicare, your private health fund or third party insurer. However, rebates may not cover the full cost of the services provided.
Our Hospital has contract agreements in place with the majority of Australian health funds. We strongly recommend that you contact your health fund prior to admission to confirm your level of cover and check if you have an excess or copayment that applies to your cover. Please check with your fund for the following: • If there are any excess, co-payments or out of pockets payable • If your policy covers the procedure that you are having • If your policy is paid up-to-date • If you have any waiting periods or exclusions under your level of cover Once we have this information, we will conduct an eligibility check with your health insurance provider. You may find that your health fund may not fully cover your stay and that an out of pocket amount may occur. We will advise you if any excess or co-payment applies to your cover prior to admission. If you are a Department of Veterans’ Affairs (DVA) member you may need approval from DVA for your admission if you do not hold a Gold card. Your Surgeon’s rooms are responsible for obtaining this approval.
If you are paying the cost of your procedure or admission yourself, prepayment of the hospital fee is required. Our Admissions staff can provide you with an estimate of costs for your admission, however, we need some information from your admitting Doctor to provide this to you. Please ask your Surgeon for the following information: • What is the item number or length of time in theatre for your procedure? • Is your admission for day surgery or an overnight stay? How many nights are expected? • Is the Doctor planning on using any prostheses during the surgery? Please call or email our Admissions team with this information and we can provide you with an estimate of costs.
Your Surgeon’s rooms are responsible for obtaining approval for your procedure from your WC or CTP insurer. Please ensure that they have provided this information to the Hospital prior to your admission.
Should your health insurer deem that your procedure is cosmetic or does not meet the rules of the Medicare Benefits Scheme they may not pay a benefit and you will be responsible for payment of the hospital costs.
For any hospital generated out-of-pocket expenses, the hospital will provide you with a detailed cost estimate. This estimate will need to be paid before or on admission.
Credit card and EFTPOS facilities are preferred and available for payment of hospital fees starting from 01.12.2021, Waratah will introduce a credit card surcharge on all credit card payments:
Personal cheques are not accepted.
In addition to the above methods, we also accept direct credit to our nominated bank account:
Waratah Private Hospital
BSB: 083-088
Account No: 949529752
Reference: (Patient surname)
Take home medications
You will need to pay for any take-home medication when you are discharged.
Mobility equipment
We have a variety of mobility equipment for hire or purchase (e.g. crutches and walking frames).
Payment terms are 7 days following date of invoice. Any balance remaining unpaid 1 month after the date of invoice will attract interest at the rate of 14% per annum. Interest will be calculated daily from the due date of invoice and may be added to the outstanding balance at the end of each calendar month, up to the actual date of payment. Any debt collection, legal or other costs incurred in the collection of outstanding amounts will also be payable by you, known as the debtor. Any variation to these terms will be at the discretion of hospital management. If there is a delay with your insurance claim, or another reason that you are not able to pay your account within 7 days (1 month for insurance claims) of the date of invoice, please ensure you contact us before the due date. If you have any queries or concerns regarding your hospital account, please discuss these with our hospital accounts staff.