No mate, I'm actually paying $800 something for the room. I was only quoting the night $400 on top of the day $400. Honestly, you can stay up to 10 days in a good hotel in Melbourne for that money. Go to wotif.com and you'll see. This is supposed to be a "clinic", a medical institution. Even if it's private. They are supposed to care for all, the poor sick and the rich sick. That's their trade. How come all they care is rip people off and make extra profits? Their actual cost for the room may be 10 times less. Doctors also take what is called Hippocratic Oath when they graduate promising that that they will cure and care for all, rich or poor. Here in Australia it turns out that doctors when they graduate should rather promise that they will make profit and more profit, regardless of the consequences and the suffering they may cause.
You're right : they're using the most basic surgical instruments for this surgery, not some state-of-art electronic surgical robots. Their fees are not justifiable.
I hope Australia catches up with Canada, France, Sweden and the rest of the developed world. One day, 100 years from now, I don't know. In many developed countries dental care for example is free of charge. Even the most complicated procedures. Do your research. I paid here $1,000 for a root canal. Another example: In Austria, my sister gets 2 years paid maternity leave (100% of salary). It has been like that for decades. Australia introduces now, in 21 century, in 2011 maternity leave for the first time!!! and it's pathetic - what is it, 4 months? Why can a Swedish or Austrian woman stay with her child until they are two, but not an Australian woman who has to quickly go back to work and slave for some company that will post multi-billion dollar profits at the end of the year? I can give you 100 more examples. Here you even have to pay for emergency transport (say you're having a heart attack) from your home to a hospital, if you don't have private insurance! And pay big money, the minimum is around $300 I heard on the radio.
I find Australians too content with what we have and we never compare ourselves to the rest of the world, thinking this is the greatest country. Rich people are making extraordinary profits in the meantime. I encourage people to start reading and start travelling and you'll see the difference is striking. Again, why should we save so hard and suffer so long in the meantime for this simple gynecomastia surgery? Why should your relative pay $920 for the cancer scan? What if she wasn't able to afford it? The answer is simple - she wouldn't have got the scan. It's scandalous. I had a diagnostic procedures myself last year in a private hospital that cost me much of my savings at that time (I was a full time student). I could have used the money to pay for a holiday. When I tell my friends back in Europe, they cannot believe I am talking about Australia, and not some third-world country.
Why should your private insurer have the power to bully you into waiting 12 months before you can claim your medical costs? It's not like conditions and illnesses can wait, it's not like you can time when you'll get sick or need a surgery like this one.
The reason why I am angry is because this is a rich and powerful country, an advanced economy. We should know better than be indifferent and accept this crap of a health system.
Anyway, focus on healing mate. And on the beautiful day when you'll wake up gyno-free. And come back to this forum after the surgery to share your experience. I find many people here are active until they get the surgery, and then we do not hear from them unless there is a problem they need to discuss. The truth is we, awaiting surgery anxiously, can all use a word of encouragement. We are all scared, more or less. I have better things to do than post here on a Saturday afternoon, but the fact is I am scared from time to time, and come here to seek positive experiences above all, not criticize. And considering how overbooked Sue is, there must be 100s of success stories out there who can ease our mind as our day of the surgery is approaching.
Topic: Average Cost in Australia (Read 17452 times)
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