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Cape Town - Private specialists almost expect a blank cheque from patients, according to Fin24 user Stu.
"Sure, you are warned that they are contracted out, and you sign acknowledgement of this before seeing the practitioner, but a refund of only 25% of a R4 500 gastroenterologist bill, for a gastroscopy is highway robbery," he writes of his experience.
"We need all the facts and costs upfront from the service provider. This must include what the medical aid will cover and what they won`t cover."
Stu was told it was a hospital procedure to be done in the specialist's rooms and he wrongly assumed that most of this would be covered by his hospital plan.
READ: Debate on high private hospital costs hots up
"They do these procedures every day and they should make it their business to find out exactly (or within 10% of the total cost) what their customer is going to be paying for the procedure," according to Stu.
"There are a limited number of medical aids and they all operate within similar criteria and they should be familiar with what they do cover and what they do not cover. It is easy, seeing that there are annual rates held for the year."
The subsequent advice and recommendation given by this specialist to Stu, regarding iron infusions, would have cost R5 500 for five treatments, rather than recommending iron tablets.
"I took a second opinion from someone in the industry and decided to see a specialist haematologist at a Western Cape government hospital," he writes.
"This has proven to be the best thing I have ever done to sort out my blood problems. I have been given friendly service (not spoken down to) by even more specialised doctors who refer to a consultant for second opinions."
READ: Opting for no medical aid, state hospitals
When he now goes for his treatments, he arrives at 07:00 and usually leaves the hospital three and half hours later.
"During this time, they have taken my blood sample, sent it through to pathology and I have had an unrushed consultation and had been given specialist advice, based on my blood taken a few hours before," he writes.
"In private practice, this would have taken a few days and probably two visits to the doctors and one to the pathologist. The costs would have been in the order of R1 500 to R2 000 for exactly the same treatment."
His total costs have averaged at R325 per visit, which is billed at the end of the month, and he pays by electronic transfer.
"Sure I am in a queue with people, who probably don`t pay anything at all. This has proven to be a little humbling (not a bad thing) but absolutely no problem at all, and if anything, this experience has given me hope for this country," concludes Stu.
"In future, I intend doing whatever I can through the national health system and use private practice only at a general practitioner level if possible."
ALSO READ: Why private health care is expensive
Disclaimer: All articles and letters published on MyFin24 have been independently written by members of the Fin24 community. The views of users published on Fin24 are therefore their own and do not necessarily represent those of Fin24.
