Health

Everything you need to know before surgery

Mar 28, 2017

Make sure you're not caught out next time you're in hospital.

When it comes to elective surgery, a lot of patients find themselves caught out with unexpected costs and a lack of information.

While private health funds will cover customers for certain proceeders, not all elective surgery makes the cut and by the time patients find out, it’s sometimes too late.

Cost isn’t the only factor to consider before heading into surgery either. Whether it’s a minor procedure or something more complicated, there are certain steps patients should take to prepare for surgery and their recovery.

In 2014–15 alone, there were over 2.1 million elective admissions involving surgery in Australia’s public and private hospitals.

Over-60s in particular are choosing elective procedures to help them stay active and relieve age-related pain.

For many patients, however, a lack of information and confusion over how much their private health insurance covers and what effect the surgery will have on their bodies afterwards causes problems.

In a bid to simply the process and provide useful and accessible advice, private health fund HCF have developed an online tool called Preparing for Hospital where people can find information on everything from how much they’re covered for, to what happens during their procedure and how to prepare for recovery.

HCF Chief Officer Benefits Cindy Shay says the not-for-profit worked with a range of experts and customers to develop the tool, which includes a cost calculator, member videos talking about personal experiences, a break down of common procedures and everything you need to know before meeting with your specialist and heading into hospital.

“Being prepared and asking ‘What do I think the pain threshold is going to be like, have I been able to make sure I’ve got the right support when I get home, am I going to require rehab, if I was alone would I be better off having in hospital rehab or if I don’t live alone could I do outpatient rehab?’ – these are all questions people need answered,” Shay told Starts at 60.

Cost is a big factor for many people, especially when it comes to specialists’ fees and elective surgery. Private health insurers have been in the spotlight recently due to the imminent rate rise on April 1, with some customers opting out because of high prices.

Shay says many customers fall into the trap of paying for cover they don’t need, which drives up the price of their premium unnecessarily.

“By the time they get to they’re 58, they’ve forgotten to check what they’re paying for,” she said. “There’s a number of things to do. They should undertake a cover review first. So have a look at their current health insurance, consider their age and what might likely be a future health event for them.

“The first decision should be about, ‘Have I got the right level of cover for my age and my health condition?’. Then the next question is, ‘What can I afford?’.

“The way you can adjust that is you could choose to take a product that has a $500 excess. So the higher the excess, the lower the premium.

“So what you’re doing is acknowledging that, should I need to use the hospital component, I will have to pay and excess when I go into hospital, but if I don’t end up in hospital for that year, or next year, or the year after I’ve saved myself some of the premium.

“It is about making an educated assessment.”

As we age, we become more susceptible to problems arising during and after surgery, which is why being prepared and armed with all the information you need is even more important than ever.

Not only will it help aid in recovery, but it reduces the risks associated with surgery.

Some of the helpful tips to help you prepare for elective surgery include:

Talk to your specialist in advance about costs and asks if they will participate in your health fund’s no-gap scheme if you’re covered
Write a list of your top five questions about the procedure and go through them with your specialist to make sure you’re not left out of the loop
Create a post-surgery recovery plan around rehabilitation and any temporary lifestyle changes you’ll need make. I.e. transport, grocery shopping, looking after pets
Use the Preparing for Hospital tool to learn about your procedure and what it entails

In regards to cost, the key factor is to talk to your specialist and health fund in advance and make sure you know what you’re covered for. Some policies will cover people for part of the surgery costs, but leave you with a gap fee to pay. Others may not cover hospital stays past a certain amount of days.

In the end it’s about finding simple ways to make sure you don’t get caught out on either cost of post-surgery recovery by staying informed and planning ahead.