I recently had surgery at a hospital. As a private patient who pays insurance each month I was slugged an extra 2000 dollars. I know people who earn much more than I do and get everything free as public patients through Medicare. No wonder the country is broke and the average worker trying to do the right thing is slugged at every point.

Dear runner,

I also have private health cover.

Always have had. And for my recent surgery
I also had to pay several thousand dollars.
However, my entire hospital stay cost over
$50,000 for which my insurance paid. Therefore
it was quite worth having the private health
cover.

Foxy

Without private health cover you would of paid nothing. So you paid for insurance, Medicare and the extra few thousand. The overall cost is irrelevant. No wonder so many people drop private cover and choose to rely on the public purse.

Insurance is designed to realise annual profits, not to deliver a fair return to you.

Private cover is useful for anything other than emergency admission. Otherwise, elective surgery could be a wait.

I am well out of pocket for family health cover and treatments over all of the years we have had it. It could finance a house.

This discussion might be better aimed at discussing the options, esp for those making those big life transitions. Although as Choice Mag (Aust Consumers Assoc) says, the providers have complicated it so much that it is very difficult to make comparisons.

I have found Medicare office quite efficient and the wait was not too long.
It is not co-sited with Centrelink, so that might be the difference.

I went to Medicare which was in the same office as Centrelink. I approached the Lady at the desk who told me to take a seat. Waited less than ten minutes and the Medicare person checked my details, was very helpful and friendly. I received a refund in the time she told me.
I confess being retired means I can happily wait but honestly I was treated promptly and well. Perhaps Recthub just picked the wrong time to put in his claim?