o/t the cost of health

Typical case of the health service ripping off the insurance companies, who inturn rip us off with higher premiums.

Kev

Mate...... surely there is a typo in there somewhere

With me 1 Total Knee Replacement and 8 days stay in hospital cost $16,000

Luckily I am on a pension or else I would still be in a wheel chair not being able to afford the fee.

Cheers

I have private health insurance (some people have big cars , trailers and planes...I have top private health insurance. And it ain't cheap)

Kidney stone. 2 operations, no overnight hospital stays.
Out of pocket costs, AFTER Medicare and health insurance was $4000.

Now tell me we don't get ripped off !

Free hospital and education is what i use . I pay enough tax now to these overtaxing governments . Tax , tax and more tax .

Sounds like youwere being treated for a 'social disease' .

Damn expensive chit these days.

Wait till you see what the lawyers charge them!

you were suposed to go to a hospital....not the Hyatt with hand selected Nurses

That is ef.....eeen riduculus

And how much would it have cost if you called out your local plumber 5 times ??? no matter which way you look at it the nurses are still underpaid., your health/life versus $$$ ,

LOL.. would you like to see the total from my Work cover claim from the bike accident?

over $300,000...

As soon as its work cover they up the price.
if you were payin on ya own, would be 1/2 that.

Dental treatment is not cheap either. Tooth needed attention last week. Half an hour and $264 later had a temporary filling. Mean while have choice of having it 'pulled' or 'root canal' job. Ask for quote to chew over (pardon the punt!) while deciding: total of $2,802.00! and that is just to save one tooth with no gurantee that it will even last! No way! Think I will have to settle for an extract and eventual dentures, as much as I hate the thought of that!

Just curious what were you in hospital for? What tests, procedures or investigations did you have? Some of these can be expensive. Do you know the cost of some of these machines? Public or private hospital also makes a difference. Elective surgery also.

Believe it or not, complain all you want, in the scheme of things Australia has a fair public health system. Definately not perfect, but look at the US, they don't even have a public health system. They would leave you there to die if you didn't have insurance! Otherwise send the patient the ten thousand dollar bill leaving the patient to mortgage their house etc. And this is in the wealthiest country in the world!

If it isn't elective you will get it done at taxpayers expense, but have to wait. Nobody having non-elective/emergency surgery will get a bill in Australia.

Barnesy

Any one who has seen what the "free" NHS in the UK offers would tell you that in Aust we are miles ahead. You pay for the service you want. I believe my health is important and pay the top rate of health insurance knowing that if i need to use it is is their and no financial wories. Same as all insurance.

It is all relative. It costs about $500,000,000 to run a 700 be hospital for a year. New antibiotics cost $200 - $300 dollars a dose (and may need 4-6 doses a day)and drug companies are not really interested because they dont make enough money even though the cost of manufacture may be $1 - 2! Though old but effective antibiotics can cost as little as 60 cents a dose. Really expensive drugs may cost $12,000 for the course of 10 doses. Interestingly the top few most profitable compnies in the world are all drug companies! Prosthetics like artificial joints cost $12 - 15,000 each. A pace maker can be as much as $50,000. A MRI machine typically costs $2,000,000 and costs $250,000 a year to run not including the staff. The usual estimates are $500 a night in a normal ward varing up to $2,000 for an ITU bed. This is just staff time and a food, no drugs, no disposables. It's not the hospital ripping you, all the bits just cost way to much. My cousin in the US had her appendix out in 1979 and it cost $30,000! The average pharmacy bill for retiries in the US is $1,500 per month.

If polies every suggest we adopt the US system vote the bugga's straight out!

Steve