Visits to your gp

[happy daze john in oz]

Les, as a hospital customer back in march i can assure you our system works far better than any currently in use in UK. You idea will not happen as most non concession pateints have to pay the GP. ome is rebated by Medicare but not all consultations are covered.

My local member, a declared socialist attempted to convince voters that if elected Liberals would cut pensions. As I pointed out to him why would any PM want to commit political suicide?

[happy daze john in oz]

[QUOTE=
I they may take it the wrong way.
Cheers
Brian.[/QUOTE]

And I believe ther were many who did just that Brain

[happy daze john in oz]

Hi Les
Well for me and the Wife no there is no Gap fee at all,and i know that all other Pensioners are the same here!
As said Les in all the Years i have been in Aus except for the Kids when they were still Young (and we then had Private Medical) i have not laid out one cent mate! Isnt that great!
Cheers

One of the problems Vernon is the states, though Medicare is common to all there is a variance on how much bulk billing each state does. Here in Mexico land it is about 70% of GP's now bulk bill.

[Les Woodard]

No matter whether you are on concession or not. Two examples and one is the sheriff and the other myself. She visits the doctor and has to pay up front and then gets a rebate from medicare but if it is a recurring ailment then it is bulk billed. Myself every visit to my doctor is bulk billed so it is a matter of preference as to costs to see a doctor. This is not an isolated event but common practice around this area. My beef is that someone that is short of funds might not be able to pay the full amount up front and wait for the rebate (can be directly paid into your bank account before I am corrected on this) so end up going to the hospital to cut down on expenses which to me is so stupid and overloading a already overloaded system. As far as who has the better health service it is hard to say really as one should compare apples with apples.

[Ian Malcolm]

180000 signed the petition and Jeremy Hunt has made a public pledge to "never" introduce a limit on the number of times we’re allowed to visit our GP.

[Evan Lewis]

Just my opinion Les
Cannot see too much change on the Medical care here no matter who wins the Election!

Wish I had the same results Vernon.
Currently have an ongoing batlle with a local private Hospital.In short ..Been a member of medibank Private in Oz. Almost since its inception ,some 30 yrs. The current plan, I was assured.meant ,Should I attend A Private Hospital. I'd pay a $250
excess. Couple of days Before Easter.Rang the Doc. He gave me the ambulance number .Was transported to a Private Hospital. Lie in the emegency Dept. For some seven hrs.Was aproached twice for a bit of diagnosis. the 2nd. time to say I would be Going up to a Ward. Cut to the Chase! Since leaving ,Was presented with some enormous to me, Bills.One
procedure ,cost just under a $1000
Any how on my behalf a little lady friend ,was back And fore to a Medibank Agency.Did get some refunds, though still a large shortfall. having paid the $250 before admittance to the Ward. In the course of conversations with Medibank, garnered the info. that Should the Fees exceed , the Rebates , I should have been consulted first or signed some agreement to accept. Armed with that knoweedge , I protested . They came to the Party ,and deducted a $410 outstanding payment.
My next Beef,is with the admitting Doc. Wno has added some $335 fee for the Minutes ,literally, he spent with me. A bill still outstanding of some $165 As an aside THEIR C.E.O. has just had a GLOWING report in the Local Paper. in relation to a brand new Hospital opening in Stages here Locally Saying They would be taking over the new Private Hospital part .with the 280 original beds ,being increased to some 400. He saying that Doctors were clamouring too be part of their system. If the charges ,as in my case obtain , I;m not surprised.
Full regards to Les in the Newcastle Area. and other s who have shown an interest. That our general Benefits we Have enjoyed ,may well be under threat. When I read now of some of the occurances i the British System . it's alarming .

[John Pruden]

they talk as if when you reach a certain age you can be put down? if you are ill you see a doctor i attend clinics although most cant be opperable i still have to go so i have got no chance and i am going to be around forever just to get my money's worth. if i lived in the likes of america my bill would run into millions but we don't think of it in the uk but saying that it was at 55 when i went to a doctor they thought i had emigrated{true} apart from childhood things? jp

[Les Woodard]

Evan I think you have just found out the secret of private health mate. How we have arranged it is that the wife and I have a single policy each and only covers hospital. Reason being that if we are ever ill we go in as public patients and deny that we are covered by insurance. The reason being obvious that we do not get any bills after but if we need to be admitted quickly then the private insurance will give us that option. I know it is a bloody silly thing but have seen to mates stung over this. Example? Mates wife has heart attack is admitted as private patient. Treatment in a public hospital along with others with heart trouble. Result? Those undergoing treatment as public patients come out with no cost. My mate ended up paying out a couple of thousand. Yet the treatment was still the same. Now a bit of trivia over this subject and this is going back years now before I arrived here. Private patients that had a baby ended up receiving a small payment from the health fund if they where in top cover but over the years that certainly disappeared around the sixties I think. Mind you that was when health funds where for patients and not for shareholders. No there are faults in the Aussie system and just as else where. Now we are inundated to take out insurance to get rid of us. Would love to know if I pay into a funeral fund and kark it in the UK would they pay to bring my corpse back to Oz. Probably fly it over along with all those pigs.

[Charlie Hannah]

I attended aspecialist a while ago cost $205 up front, Medicare refunded me $129,still $76 out of pocket.Better than nothing though. My own Docter bulk bills and is a top Docter.So all up no complaints from me.

[happy daze john in oz]

No matter whether you are on concession or not. Two examples and one is the sheriff and the other myself. She visits the doctor and has to pay up front and then gets a rebate from medicare but if it is a recurring ailment then it is bulk billed. Myself every visit to my doctor is bulk billed so it is a matter of preference as to costs to see a doctor. This is not an isolated event but common practice around this area. My beef is that someone that is short of funds might not be able to pay the full amount up front and wait for the rebate (can be directly paid into your bank account before I am corrected on this) so end up going to the hospital to cut down on expenses which to me is so stupid and overloading a already overloaded system. As far as who has the better health service it is hard to say really as one should compare apples with apples.

Two hospitals here in Melbourne, flooded with people using the emergency as a GP service. So thye set up a clinic opposite the hospital. When you attend emergency you are assessed by a triage doctor or nurse. If you ailment is minor you are sent to the clinic which bulk bills. Attendance at emergency at these two hospitals had dropped by over 60% since the system was introduced.