public vs private

Hi, I live in Corrigin, and Bunbury are not taking on anymore public patients according to Dr Werapitiya's receptionist, plus applesauce tells me that you actualy have to be in the bunbury "postcode" area anyway. I have'nt found any other hospitals anywhere in WA (yet) that are taking public patients for wls. And I've only found two who are no gap Dr's, Dr Werapitiya in Bunbury and Dr Dolan, Joondalup Campus and he dosen't do Sleeves, all the other wls procedures but not sleeve. At this point it looks like I'll be going to Bunbury via Perth (its quicker).

Just wondering if you live in Mandurah whether that is considered to be close enough to Bunbury to qualify for the public option?

Hi folks I just got your messages (this morning) I'm new to web forums have never done this before so please forgive me if I get it wrong. I think I was meant to go thru intro first, get some training!!! I'm winging it. I tried to add an icon to a message and it inserted some numbers instead, so I deleted it. LOL Ive got some enquiries to make I will get back to you all soon thanks for your help. this time I will leave the numbers there and see what happens LOL

the only public sleeves being done in WA are Bunbury BUT there is NO exceptions EVER to anybody not living in their strict postcode area. Unless you live in the post codes covered by Bunbury Hospital do NOT attempt to get on this list it is just wasting your time.

With private health cover the cost should be between zero for one surgeon upto over $6,000 for the most expensive in the state. the cost of the gap is by no means any indication of the quality of service you get either so do shop around.

applesauce

ditto... tamara... i just sent one too!!! Snap!

nimue - I just sent you a message.

Have a read thru these threads:
http://www.gastricsleevesupport.com/accessing-your-superannuation-f25/

Ok , so how does that work, do I just ring them and say I want WLS and can I have some of my super, or do give them quotes or what??

You can pay for it through your super. Honestly, its the best $8000 I've ever spent. Check out the gallery to see the results. Its up there ^^^^^^^The pictures show the proof of how amazing this op is!

wow Lib, You know I wouldn't mind if it was a personal choice to do the surgery, but my Dr wants me to do it because of my health, I'm diabetic and he says its either the op or insulin injections ,which will make me gain even more weight. The medications I'm on now already do that, I feel like I just can't win.

I was private, I am in Qld and top health cover and I was $8000 out of pocket.

Thanks for that Tamara, I think I've rang them all here in Perth, I guess whats bothering me is just what you say, I have the costs per Dr, but I'm having difficulty finding reviews of there work ie do they have a high success rate, no leaks etc. So far I found a Dr I am covered with and it wont cost me anything but he only does bypass and DS ops, not sleeve. My next choice based on the little feed back I could find would be Dr Padovan?? The biggest problem is, if I had 16,000 to spend I would but I'm having trouble raising $4,000 and that woulfd only get the band I have, taken out. I would then have to find another 4.000 to do the surgery. I was reallllllly hoping someone would come back with... ""sure go to Dr??? and he will do cheap for you and hes good" dont want much do I.

Welcome to the forum :-)

how much you will be out of pocket depends on how much the surgeon charges above what you're health fund will cover. So I guess it is just a case of ringing a surgeon and seeing how much you will be out of pocket with them.
Of course the amount out of pocket they charge is not necessarily an indication of their skill.

thanks for your responses I was starting to think no one wanted to talk to me. Can you tell me who does it for 2,000, I have top HBF cover have had for 15 years and the quotes I'm getting are 4,000+??

Hi

I know the surgery isnt covered by medicare. the full cost including the surgery hospital dietican exercise and the sleep doc cost me $16k out of this i can only get $1k back from medicare and claim about $2k back on tax. however if u have private health cover i believe they cover most of it but have been told you need to be in it for 12 months. i was lucky because it was not on the medicare list i was able to get the whole amount from my super to pay for the op... I got a few quotes and they range $16k was the cheapest..


Best of luck with ur descion

jane

Hi,
I didn't know that anyone was doing sleeve surgery publicly, I thought that they were all private.
You would be best to speak to your surgeon, they are very up front about the costs involved now and generally ask for the money up front.
I was private and out of pocket expenses were $2,000.
Sorry can't be of more help.
Cheers Gail

can anyone tell me, if there is any cost involved in going to a public hospital for sleeve surgery? does the surgeon still charge $4,000+ to operate? or is that fee only for private patients with health cover?