Patient Types & Payment Methods

Our Payment Policy

Consultation Fees

Our reception staff will be happy to advise you of the consultation fee upon booking an appointment over the telephone. If required, fees for consultation and any other necessary forms will be sent to you for your convenience prior to your appointment.


Surgical Fees

If you have private health insurance with an insurer Dr Turner does "gap cover" with, then any surgical fees will be billed directly to that insurer, and you will not incur any "out of pocket" expenses from Dr Turner.  If your private health insurer is not accepted by Dr Turner as a "gap cover" insurer or you do not have private health insurance, there will be an out of pocket payment.  This amount depends on the type of surgery and you will be given a quote prior to surgery as part of financial disclosure.  This amount has to be paid prior to the surgical procedure. Other expenses not controlled by this practice are anaesthetic fees, surgical assist fees, cost of pathology testing and hospital excess fees.


 IVF Fees

IVF fees are billed by Monash IVF and after your appointment with Dr Turner and determining the type of treatment required, Monash IVF will give you a detailed costing.


About Our Medical Fees

The Federal Government medical benefits scheme [MBS] SUBSIDIZES health care in Australia if the service provided has a MBS item number.  This amount never reflected the true cost of providing a service and over the decades has fallen further behind.  As a result of this there is a gap between what the consultation costs and what Medicare will rebate.  Full payment is due on the day of the service.  Reception can inform you of this amount when booking an appointment.

Payment Types

  • Privately Insured 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:

    • Your policy may base its allowances on a fixed fee schedule, which may or may not coincide with Dr Turners fee schedule.
    • Different insurance companies vary greatly in the types of coverage available. Also, some companies take care of claims promptly while others delay payment for several months.
    • Depending on your level of cover, some health funds also require you to pay an excess. We are not responsible for these costs but our staff will do their utmost to guide you to better understanding.

    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 Patients (Workers Comp, Motor Accident)

    Insurance Claimants include two common insurance classes are:

    • Workers Compensation, and
    • Motot Vehical Accidents

    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.


    Motor Vehical Accident (TAC) Claimants

    We offer full TAC Injury treatments.


    If you are seeing the doctor for an existing TAC claim or if you have recently been involved in a transport accident and are unsure of whether you fall under the category of TAC please inform the receptionist on arrival.

  • Self Insured or Un-Insured Patients

    An increasing number of people are choosing to "Self-Insure" 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:

    • The gap between the Medicare benefit and any specialist’s charge
    • The gap for diagnostic services (medical imaging and laboratory testing), however some of these services may be bulk billed to Medicare, that is no ‘gap’
    • Hospital accommodation fees (bed charge)
    • Use of disposable surgical equipment
    • Other Services

    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

  • Overseas Patients

    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.

Private Fee Patients 

Our practice treats private fee patients. If you choose to be treated as a private patient you will be able to:

  • choose your own treating specialist, and
  • be treated at hospitals that our doctor is affiliated with or is a visiting medical specialist, 


After discharge, your care and follow up appointments will be carried out by your specialist and team in either 

  • an outpatient clinic or in our private rooms, or 
  • will be referred to your local general practitioner.


As a private patient, our surgeon will perform your surgery personally and will also look after you if you are advised to be an in-patient. All follow up appointments will be in our private rooms.


Fee Estimates

We offer informed financial consent to all our patients prior to surgery. This is a pre-treatment estimate of your surgical costs. 


While the fees charged may depend on the specific course of treatment, our practice's standard fees are more than the Medicare Benefits Rebate fee schedule. This means that in most instances there will be a ‘gap’ between our surgical fee and what is covered by Medicare and your health insurance fund unless you are a member of a health fund Dr Turner elects to do gap cover with, then there is no excess fees for his services.


The pre-treatment fee estimate includes the specific item numbers to be used and enables you to discuss with your health insurance company what you are covered for and if benefits are applicable.


If there is any problem with either the fee estimate or any other billing issue, it is important that you ask our staff. They can help you navigate what can be a complex process by either advising or helping explain the charges and rebate structure. 


All Fee Categories

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 to be sure of can include:

  • Hospital Fees,
  • Surgical Assistant Fees,
  • Disposable surgical instruments.
  • Anaesthetists Fees,
  • Diagnostic Tests (Radiology, Pathology), and
  • Post-Operative Care.

 

Questions to Ask Your Health Fund

When talking with your Health insurance company you should be clear on the following matters:

  • What is my annual monetary benefit limit for:
  • General Surgical treatment and Major Surgical treatment?
  • What service limits apply to my cover?
  • When does my annual benefit limit expire?
  • Do I have a waiting period? And when does it end?
  • What kind of Surgical treatment is NOT covered?

 

Medicare Gap for Our Patient Services?

The Medicare Rebate for an outpatient service is 85% of the MBS schedule fee. 


The “gap” between the amount charged and this 85% rebate is not covered by your private health insurance for outpatient services and therefore a financial obligation on yourself arises, and you will face an “out-of-pocket” charge. 

As a patient, you pay 15% of the MBS fee, plus any amount charged by the doctor over the MBS fee. Private health insurers are not allowed to provide cover for doctors’ fees for out-of-hospital services. 


Medicare benefits levels are fixed arbitrarily by the federal government and benefit levels have not kept pace with inflation, the escalating costs of running a practice and increasing medical indemnity premiums, thereby widening the gap between reasonable fees and Medicare benefits. 


The fees charged by our practice have been determined after careful study and investigation of practice costs and other relevant and material circumstances, and are considered as being fair, reasonable and appropriate for the services provided.

No Gap, Low Gap & Known Gap Policy

Our practice believes strongly in the importance of appropriate surgical care.  We offer clear fee schedules for our patients, with service fees ranging across

  • No-Gap
  • Low Gap, and
  • Known Gap

 

Every person who has surgery covered with any Australian health fund and who is under significant financial hardship may be covered by our No Gap Policy. This means some patients may receive no out-of-pocket expenses for some treatments.



 

Conditions for the No Gap Surgical Service include you must have:

  • Basic Surgical cover with your private health insurer,
  • Your health fund card with you at the appointment,
  • Insurance covers the cost of the treatment. If your limit is reached for services provided or your health insurer paid zero dollars, you will have to pay the difference.

 

These No Gap fees are available for patients in significant financial hardship or pensioners.

Where you are not eligible for No Gap services, you may also be eligible for Known Gap or Low Gap Fee Schedules. Please contact our practice for further details.


Uninsured Public Patients

If you are not covered by private health insurance or other claiming system and you require surgery there are two alternatives:

  • Go on a Waiting List at the Public Hospital, or
  • Pay for the operation yourself ("Self Insure")

 

Australian residents who decide to be public patients are entitled to free treatment under Medicare. 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 is usually 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 upwards of twelve months.


How to Pay

Payment on the day of consultation is much appreciated. For your convenience we accept a number of payment methods in the rooms, by post and online.

Fees or programs available for uninsured patients are advised by the accounts manager upon request.

Direct Payment

These payment methods include:

  • Credit Card: VISA, Mastercard, Amex 
  • Cheque or Cash
  • Electronic - EFTPOS, Pay Online (BPay)

Medical Finance Options

There are a range of medical finance specialists who help fund medical procedures, some providers include:

  • Zip
  • Medipay
  • MacCredit

Early Release Superannuation

Patients may apply to Centrelink for an early release of superannuation funds to cover part or all of the costs involved. More details can be found on the Centrelink website.


If you chose to apply for this, three documents need to be lodged - ATO Application Form - click for more information


  • A letter of support from your General Practitioner
  • A letter of support from our clinic (we will provide this after your initial consultation)

Tax Rebate Scheme For Medical Expenses

A significant rebate can be claimed through your end of year tax return if you incur medical expenses over $2,000 during the one 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 $2,000 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 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. Further details can be found by clicking  here

  • Private Billing

    Our practice is a private service provider, this means typically payment in full is expected at the time of the appointment.

     

    Patients are then able to claim some of the fee back from Medicare if you have a referral letter.

    A percentage of the fee may also be claimed from you private health insurance company. 

  • Do You Offer Discounts?

    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. 

  • Quotations

    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:

    • Hospital Fees
    • Surgical Assistant Fees
    • Disposable surgical instruments
    • Anaesthetics Fees
    • Tests (Radiology, Pathology)
    • Postoperative Care

  • No Gap Policy

    For surgical treatments there is  a No Gap billing arrangement with most but not all health funds.  If  there is no arrangement for no gap with your health fund there will be out of pocket expenses or you can choose to transfer to a health fund with a no gap arrangement without affecting your waiting periods.

  • Self Insured Patients

    Patients without private health insurance can choose private admission. These ‘self-funded’ patients assume all costs of the admission including the:

    • Gap between the Medicare benefit and specialists fees,
    • Gap for diagnostic services,
    • Hospital accommodation fees,
    • Any surgical devices used

    For further information about being a private patient, contact our rooms

  • Fee Explanations

    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.

  • What Will I Get Back?

    Generally, most health funds will cover a percentage of the cost for our services. 


    We recommend you check your level of cover with your private health fund to know exactly what you are entitled to for each consultation and the gap you may be expected to pay. 

  • Payment Methods

    Any gap payments are expected to be settled on the day of consultation.


    These accounts can be paid via 

    • EFT, 
    • Visa Card, 
    • Mastercard, 
    • AMEX, 
    • Cheque 
    • Cash.

    In some cases a deposit or full payment is requested prior to admission.

  • Known Gap

    For some treatments have a Known Gap arrangement.

  • Finance Options

    Sometimes it’s just easier to spread your payments. We can advise you of a number of health finance companies that can offer a formal quote based on your circumstances.


    A credit assessment will be conducted prior to acceptance of any offer or product. Interest rates, terms and conditions will be provided on the application. Fees and charges apply.