Public v Bulk Bill What's the difference?

[Guest The Pom Queen]

Ok if you received a letter asking if you want to go public or bulk bill (hospital op) but it says you won't pay whichever you choose, what on earth is it on about. It says if it's bulk billed the hospital get to claim some money back but not on public. In my 8 years in and out I have never come across anything like this, any ideas:unsure:

[fish.01]

My take on it until a professional arrives...

 

Public health institutions are free...like public hospitals for example. So they have no need to bulk bill because they don't charge you in the first place.

 

Private health institutions (Private hospitals, GP surgery's etc) cost. The govt medicare system has a set fee for each procedure these private institutions provide. The govt pays this fee to the private institution. The private institution can choose to charge more than the govt set fee so you get charged the gap, or they can "bulk bill" and accept the govt set fee as the total amount due so you pay nothing.

 

The twist is public hospitals can also perform private procedures. So the public hospital is saying to you that you can either (1) be treated as a normal free public patient or (2) you can be treated as a private patient in a public hospital and that they will bulk bill you (no gap).

 

If you opt for (2) the public hospital can claim the cost of the procedure back from the govt but it still costs you nothing.

 

It might pay to quiz them on the difference in service, or ancillary costs, if any.

 

I know I have probably told you some stuff you already know but thought someone new to it who is reading might need the detail.

[Guest The Pom Queen]

Thanks Fish, it was the last bit I didn't realise, I usually see a private specialist but go in to the public system for treatment/ops. I didn't realise that the hospitals could give you different options, apart from the usual public or insurance. So if this is the case you would probably go for the Bulk Bill option.

Its next week so haven't got long to decide.

[Ken]

It's probably just a funding issue for the hospital. They've probably found that if they bulk bill they can receive more money from the government than they get from just having public patients (presumably the amount of central funding goes down if they have less public patients but quite possibly it goes down less than the amount extra they receive from the bulk billing). If the funding structure had been properly thought through it would make no difference but often the structures are poorly designed and it is in the interest of the local managers to use one billing method rather than another.

[Guest The Pom Queen]

It's probably just a funding issue for the hospital. They've probably found that if they bulk bill they can receive more money from the government than they get from just having public patients (presumably the amount of central funding goes down if they have less public patients but quite possibly it goes down less than the amount extra they receive from the bulk billing). If the funding structure had been properly thought through it would make no difference but often the structures are poorly designed and it is in the interest of the local managers to use one billing method rather than another.

Thanks Ken.

[fish.01]

Thanks Fish, it was the last bit I didn't realise, I usually see a private specialist but go in to the public system for treatment/ops. I didn't realise that the hospitals could give you different options, apart from the usual public or insurance. So if this is the case you would probably go for the Bulk Bill option.Its next week so haven't got long to decide.

 

Personally I would quiz them on whether there could be any adverse outcomes from your choice. ie if you go private and then needed other treatment, additional in house specialists, medicines, crutches etc would it ALL be bulk billed like a public hospital patient would be. If so, then you could cut them a deal where you will go bulk billed if you get the best room, newspapers daily and a foot massage from the matron :biggrin:

[Guest kitkat37]

The only difference if u are going for treatment in a public hospital if u have private health insurance is that the hospital can claim the money your treatment costs them off ur health insurance company. You pay no excess, you get no different treatment than a public hospital patient (ie U cannot ask for a single room unless the public hospital has a private wing - in which case u will pay excess as u are classified as a private pt in a private hospital)

As a private patient in a public hospital the only difference is the hospital gets some income from you staying there which benefits the public hospital system.As a public and private healthcare worker can I say (with the exception of maternity services) I would go public EVERY time.