Luckily, you probably won't go to hospital very often, but if you do have to be admitted, it can be a stressful experience. Obviously, your first concern will be for your health. No doubt you'll ask many questions about the treatment and recovery period. You'll probably also say "Thank goodness I have private health cover!"
The last thing you need is financial worry and unexpected bills. The following information will help you access valuable information so you are more informed about your hospital stay.
What hospital cover do I have?
You may have to pay an excess or co-payment. This can depend on a number of things, such as:
- The level of cover you have chosen,
- The anticipated length of stay,
- The type of treatment you are having, and
- Whether the hospital you will use is public or private.
To check your personal cover details, please contact us as soon as you find out you will be going into hospital.
How will I know if my hospital is a Latrobe participating hospital?
Your Latrobe hospital cover applies in every Australian public hospital. However, if you are going to a private hospital or day surgery centre, you must ensure that it is a participating hospital. This will protect you against unexpected hospital accommodation costs. Latrobe has agreements with hundreds of participating hospitals around Australia.
View the current list of participating hospitals and day surgery centres or contact us when you find out that you will be going into hospital.
Will I have out of pocket costs ("gaps") for my treatment?
Depending on your treatment, you will probably have a number of different service providers as well as your main specialist, for example an assistant surgeon, an anaesthetist and perhaps an assistant anaesthetist, pathologists and radiologists. If your medical practitioners all charge the Medicare Schedule Fee, you will not have any medical gaps. Medicare pays 75% of the schedule fee, and Latrobe pays the rest.
If they charge more than the schedule fee, Just Ask! can help reduce the gaps. Participating in Just Ask! is easy and could save you a great deal of money by paying additional medical gap benefits over and above the standard 25% of the schedule fee.
Latrobe Health Services is committed to empowering its members to make informed decisions regarding their healthcare. An important aspect of this is their choice of specialist. We have partnered with Healthshare to help members search for a health professional, speciality or health topic.
For more information about avoiding or reducing gaps, download our Reducing the gap brochure or contact us.
Non-Medicare covered treatments
Private health insurance may not cover or fully cover hospital or medical costs for procedures that do not have a benefit payable under the Medicare Benefit Schedule. Examples of such procedures are cosmetic surgery and procedures performed by podiatric surgeons. Your doctor can advise you if Medicare will pay a benefit for your treatment.