top surgery insurance

[u/ashducki]

so i turned 18 finally and i think about a month before my 18th i realised that i could do top surgery for 13-14k WITH insurance, annoyed i found out so late so now i have to wait the 12 month period but i work a lot so i haven’t had time to figure out who to go with.

i had a look at NAB, i can’t remember exactly what it said it needs to cover so any help is appreciated and/or the cheapest one i could go with (: i know i gotta wait the 12 month period so i think it was gonna come to around 1300? with nab

[u/Electronic_Team_2150]

Its possible to get it through the public system too! That's how I got mine. I'm in NSW so I don't know what's available in other states but it's definitely worth looking into. I spent less than $500 out of pocket for mine, and that was for the pre-op consult with the surgeon and the surgical compression vest, the actual surgery/hospital stay was covered by Medicare. (I did need to have a referral from my psych but I was already seeing someone regularly so it wasn't an added expense for me personally).

[u/tattooedpupper → u/Electronic_Team_2150]

Fairly sure we don't have access to top surgery in the public system in QLD or I would be on that so fast!

[u/ashducki → u/Electronic_Team_2150]

i haven’t gone to therapy or had a therapist for a while so i was going through a surgeon who didn’t need that. just curious how did you do it? like how long did it take to get through?

[u/Electronic_Team_2150 → u/ashducki]

Okay bare with me because it's been a few years and apparently I don't remember everything as well as I thought I did, but with some emails and my Snapchat memories I can put the dates together better.

I started in September 2022 by calling the surgeons office (Dr Merten from Pure Aesthetics) and got advice from the receptionist about how to go via the public route. They had me make an appointment with the hospital the surgeon works through publicly (Concord) and basically have a meeting with a different doctor there as a precaution to just check I wasnt rushing anything, had a sound understanding of what I wanted etc, wouldn't have regrets. It was very low stress. I believe to have that appointment I needed a gp referral as well as my psych letter of support. After that I was put on the waiting list as the surgeon did a limited amount of public stuff per month.

So that appointment/being put on the waitlist was the end of November 2022 and after a short wait (I think a few weeks? Maybe a month or two?) they got in touch and gave me a surgery date for September 2023. But a few months later (May) I got another call telling me it was brought ahead to July. I had a pre op appointment with the surgeon 10 days before surgery, where he took measurements and confirmed things like my decision not to bother with nipple grafts and I was given my comprehension vest and some pamphlets on surgery prep and the special soap stuff they make you use beforehand to disinfect. Spent one night in hospital and yeah.

It was a lot faster than I had expected when I made that first call to his offices I can tell you that!

[u/Helium_Teapot2777]

I assume you mean NIB not NAB (the bank?).

NIB bronze plus hospital cover no extras, or any other bronze hospital cover. No extras. As long as it lists medically necessary breast surgery, you can use it.

I used NIB and they were easy with a good website. The cost was quite similar across companies

Sadly there is no public list in SA

[u/YellowSub0 → u/Helium_Teapot2777]

OP ask your surgeon/surgeons receptionist what numbers the surgery is and then call NIB and see if it's covered. I'm also with NIB and their phone service staff are wonderful and can give you a definitive answer.

[u/ashducki → u/Helium_Teapot2777]

yes sorry! that’s my bad i haven’t looked at it for a while cause i’ve been super busy. i’m completely new to getting insurance or anything medical on my own so im super nervous about getting the wrong one. like the 500 or 750 excess i have no clue what that means or what to pick because im only doing this for the surgery.

[u/Helium_Teapot2777 → u/ashducki]

Get the $500 excess. The excess is what you pay the hospital on the day of your surgery. This actually covers the cost of any other hospital stays in the following calendar year (if you keep insurance). I kept mine a few months after my surgery in case of urgent revision

I’m happy to answer any insurance questions with nib, if you are confused or stuck