WEIGHT LOSS SURGERY COST
Dr Askew offers weight loss surgery to both privately insured and uninsured patients. Weight loss surgery fees are made up of several components such as the hospital fee, surgeon and assistant, anaesthetist as well as allied health consultations. We believe that you are best placed to achieve excellent long term results when you are supported by a multidisciplinary team. Dr Askew’s surgical fee includes a comprehensive team care approach of dietitian and psychology support. We are transparent and upfront with our fee structure for our care program to ensure that there are no ‘hidden costs.’
Why Choose Dr James Askew for your Weight Loss Surgery?
We offer a total team care approach for your weight loss journey before, during and after surgery. Our comprehensive Bariatric Care Package includes the following:
8+
Ongoing Bariatric Surgeon consultations to care for you before and years after your surgery
7
Dietitian appointments to prepare you for surgery and to help you navigate your dietary needs after surgery
2
Psychology appointments to support you on your way to a healthier lifestyle
+
Resources including a bariatic cookbook, meal plans, bariatic crockery and patient liaison visit in hospital.
You are welcome to read the following information and to contact our friendly administration team (Amy, Emily and Kye) to discuss this further.
Price
The 3 key components of weight loss surgery fees are:
1Hospital Fee. Please see below regarding Private Health Insurance and self-funding patients
2Dr Askew’s Bariatric Care Package includes:
- Consent Appointment with Dr. Askew
- Dr. Askew’s surgical fee
- Surgical assistant fee
- Dr Askew’s follow-up appointments all bulk billed* for 3 years
- 7 dietitian appointments
- 2 psychology appointments
Additional costs to consider are:
- Pre- or post-operative investigations if required. These may include: echocardiogram, barium swallow, endoscopy or blood tests. While all efforts will be made for these appointments to be bulk-billed there is the possibility of out-of-pocket expenses for these investigations.
- Pharmacy dispensed medications
- Multi-vitamins and very low calorie diet (VLCD) shakes.
Patients with Private Health Insurance
The hospital fee for weight loss surgery is a significant proportion of the total cost. This fee includes:
- Hospital charge for the operating theatre session
- Equipment used in the operating theatre (including the staples used to perform the sleeve gastrectomy and gastric bypass surgeries)
- Hospital charge for your bed and care as an in-patient.
Most health funds cover bariatric (weight loss) surgery, however you will need to be in a high level of cover. To check your level of cover for a particular operation contact your health fund with the surgery ‘item numbers’ as listed below.
- Hospital charge for the operating theatre session
- Equipment used in the operating theatre (including the staples used to perform the sleeve gastrectomy and gastric bypass surgeries)
- Hospital charge for your bed and care as an in-patient.
Typically if you are ‘covered’ for the surgery then your private health insurance will pay the entire hospital fee. You may also need to check if you have a ‘hospital excess’ to access your private health insurance.
Patients without Private Health Insurance / Self-Funding Patients
You are still able to have weight loss surgery performed by Dr Askew at the Sunshine Coast University Private Hospital. There is however a cost associated with this. This fee is set by the hospital and payment is required in advance of your surgery. The approximate cost for a Laparoscopic Sleeve Gastrectomy with 2 post-operative nights in hospital is approximately $13,800. Although bariatric surgery is safe and the risk of complications is very low, complications can occur. If your surgery or recovery is not routine your hospital stay can be longer and the hospital cost will increase.
*when a valid referral is held on file for Medicare purposes
Australian Taxation Office – Compassionate Early Release of Superannuation
Dr Askew routinely assists patients with their request for early release of superannuation and the documentation that supports this claim. Dr Askew does not charge a fee for the completion of these documents. The ATO requires two supporting practitioners for your application and we suggest you also ask your General Practitioner to assist you.
The ATO allows for the early release of superannuation funds with each application judged on its own merits. Obesity increases the likelihood of developing diabetes, heart disease, arthritis, cancer, hypertension and sleep apnoea. Obesity can lead to a decrease in life expectancy by 8-10 years. The amount of superannuation money you can apply for is limited to the cost of your medical treatment which includes Dr Askew’s Bariatric Care Package, anaesthetist and hospital fees.
Prior to placing an application with the ATO you should consider that the released superannuation money will be taxed. The rules regarding the taxation of superannuation money is complex and a more detailed description can be found on the ATO website. In short, the released money will count towards your taxable income, which will increase your tax bill. ATO applications can be lodged via the my.Gov website or app. Your application may take 4-8 weeks from submission to cleared funds in your bank account.
Please note that our Practice cannot give financial advice and we encourage you to speak with your accountant, financial planner or the ATO about this.
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