Australians who did it on public...

[Ses 0]

Does it cover it for us? :S If not, what did people have to pay? Is private better for it?

[Jachut 487]

I dont know whether it will cost you anything, but if you go private there are advantages.

Firstly, if you take out private health insurance, you'll have a waiting period of a year before you qualify. If you go public it could be five times longer than that depending where you are.

If you've got insurance, you'll probably pay a once off fee of about $3,500 to your surgeon and that's all you'll ever pay, all your aftercare will be bulk billed. If you need any revision surgery (things like port revision, band replacement, etc) then that will be done quickly and bulk billed. If you're a public patient, you could be hanging round with a slipped or non functinal band for a long time till you get in to be fixed.

If you decide to go private, take out insurance, dont go self pay - for the same reasons. The premiums you pay will be less than a self pay fee anyway, and you're covered later if anything goes wrong.

Good luck, and I think it depends a lot where you are. In Melbourne, its quite hard to get banded on the public system.

[Ses 0]

lol, I was banded on the public system in Melbourne. I was on the waiting list for about three years. Now I'm looking ahead, to fixing the rest... I want to look my age, darnit. >_<

[Jachut 487]

Oh, yeah, sorry, I misunderstood.

I believe with some Tummy Tuck procedures you can get it covered, but its rather unusual. You have to go to a specialist reconstructive surgeon, and you have to be deemed medically in need.

Most likely, it will cost you a bomb unfortunately. Cosmetic surgery is very difficult to get covered in Australia. Even with private insurance, that just covers the hosptial bed and will not usually pay out towards the surgery at all.

Chickie has been on the board today, I know she got her tummy tuck covered but she's the only person I've ever heard of who has.