This page explains of practice and payment policies relating to:
Our practice treats the following types of patients:
Private Health Insurance allows you and your family to access the right health services at the right time.
You have control of your health care and can choose the provider, facility and timing of your treatment.
With the security and protection of private health insurance, you have access to an extensive range of private hospitals and can rest assured that your health is in good hands.
Please keep in mind that you are responsible for your total obligation should your insurance benefits result in less coverage than anticipated.
Your should be aware that:
Our practice accepts most private health insurance programs. Our staff can also help with your claim for benefits, but we remind you that your specific policy is an agreement between you and your insurance company.
Insurance Claimants include two common insurance classes are:
Workcover and Workplace Injuries
We offer full Workers Compensation and work-related injury treatments.
If you are seeing the doctor for an existing Workcover claim or if you have recently been involved in a work incident and are unsure of whether you fall under the category of WorkCover, please inform the receptionist on arrival.
We know the importance of good communication with employers to minimise lost time from injuries, and we work with employers to find alternative duties for injured staff where possible.
We will need to receive approval for the consultation, from the insurance company, before making an appointment.
Motor Vehicle Accident Claimants
If you are seeing the doctor for an existing MVA insurance claim or if you have recently been involved in a transport accident then please inform the receptionist.
The Australian Government’s Department of Veterans’ Affairs (DVA) provides support to current and former serving members and their families through a range of benefits.
These can include both ongoing or one off payments.
For further understanding on how you can apply these benefits to our service and the scope of cover please refer to: http://www.dva.gov.au/benefits-and-payments
An increasing number of people are choosing to "Self-Fund" or pay for their own surgery, so they don't have to wait. This is often a worthwhile investment as it means you can have your operation done straight away or whenever it suits you. This can allow you to get back to your work and sport as soon as possible.
Patients may be able to choose private admission even if they do not have private health insurance.
Self-funded patients will be liable to pay the following:
Essentially this means you must meet all costs of the admission yourself except those covered by Medicare.
For further information about being a private patient, contact our rooms
Non Reciprocal Health Care Agreement - If you are an overseas patient from a country where there is no Reciprocal Health Care Agreement, you are not eligible for Medicare and you are responsible for payment of all fees and services. Non-Medicare patients are billed for inpatient and outpatient services regardless if they choose public or private admission.
Reciprocal Health Care Agreement - If you are a visitor from a country where Australia does have a Reciprocal Health Care Agreement (RHCA), you may be eligible for treatment that is deemed immediately necessary for any health problem or injury whilst in Australia. RHCA does not cover pre-arranged or elective treatment. Overseas patients who are covered by the RHCA will not be covered if they choose private admission.
Please contact us for more information.
Our practice fees for either Consulting or Surgery may sometimes only be part of your treatment cost.
Other possible fees or disbursements involved in your care are dependent on which course of action is chosen for your treatment. You may need to also check with your health fund to see what is covered for additional areas of service. Potential fee categories can include:
When talking with your Health insurance company you should be clear on the following matters:
If you are not covered by private health insurance or other claiming system and you require surgery there are two alternatives:
Australian residents who decide to be public patients are entitled to free treatment. Your treatment will be carried out by an appropriate specialist which will be arranged prior to your admission. After discharge, your care will either be continued in an outpatient clinic or you will be referred to your local general practitioner.
There are no fees for surgery in the public hospital, however, there is a waiting list. Your position on the waiting list will be based on the severity of your condition. Your follow up visits after surgery will be arranged through the hospital.
In the public hospital the surgery may be performed by a registrar (doctor training) but the registrar is supervised by a senior surgeon who is responsible for your care.
Public Hospital Waiting List
The Waiting List for operations in the Public Hospital System can be considerable, currently many common procedures are up to twelve months.
There are a range of medical finance specialists who help fund medical procedures, some providers include:
A significant rebate can be claimed through your end of year tax return if you incur medical expenses over $2,000 during a single financial year. Anyone can claim the tax offset: there is no upper limit on the amount you can claim, however it is now income tested. The rebate is currently 20 cents for every dollar over the $2000 threshold.
There is no upper limit on the amount you can claim, and it is not means or assets tested. Because this is a rebate rather than a tax deduction, you can claim this from the ATO even if you do not pay tax. As always, also check with your accountant or financial advisor.
Because this is a rebate rather than a tax deduction, you can claim this even if you do not pay tax. It is claimed at question T9 on your tax return. As always, be sure to check with your accountant or financial advisor.
Dr Ferguson's practice is a private service provider, this means typically payment in full is expected at the time of the appointment.
If your bank details are registered with Medicare then you will get a rebate automatically into your account. If not then you can use the invoice to claim.
Due to strict regulations set by the Therapeutic Goods Act (TGA) it is against the law to offer financial inducements for medical services.
Discounted treatments should raise alarm bells when you are choosing which clinic to trust your treatment to.
A treatment quotation can be created. This quotation includes the item numbers for checking with your health fund.
Other Possible Disbursements
Other charges for your care that should be checked could include:
Patients without private health insurance can choose private admission. These ‘self-funded’ patients assume all costs of the admission including the:
For further information about being a private patient, contact our rooms
Please talk with our staff for further clarification of what is involved.
They can go through the details of the fees, payment options and logistics with you.
If you still have questions when you leave the office, please do not hesitate to contact us.
We are here to help.
Medicare provides a rebate for part of consultation fees. Your health fund does not.
We recommend you check your level of cover with your private health fund to know exactly what you are entitled to and the gap you may be expected to pay.
Consultation fees are expected to be settled on the day of consultation.
These accounts can be paid via
Known Gap payments are ususally made at your first post-op appointment.
Most treatments have a Known Gap arrangement (up to $500). This is payable at your first post-op appointment.