Specialists alarmed as patients go public

HUGE out- of- pocket medical expenses are driving patients to free public hospitals.

Wealthy specialists last week held crisis talks on how to stop the problem from undermining their hefty incomes.

It comes as a new survey has found ear nose and throat specialists are charging patients up to $ 250 more than the Medicare rebate for consultations.

Patients in NSW are paying the highest prices in the country.

Analysis by Mind the Gap – a medical directory that compares doctors by price, location and opening times – has found the average fee charged by ENT specialists is $ 213 while the Medicare rebate is just $ 72.

Mind the Gap called all 530 ENT practices in Australia between July and November and asked about their charges.

Only 28 clinics refused to provide their fees.

Nationally ENT specialists charged on average $ 212.99 and $ 183.50 in Queensland.

Out- of- pocket medical expenses have now got so high that patients are abandoning the private system and doctors are worried because it hurts their incomes.

Australian Medical Association president Dr Michael Gannon said nearly 40 per cent of babies used to be delivered in the private system; now less than 30 per cent are.

Unlike hip and knee replacements, for which there are long waiting lists in public hospitals, pregnant women must be treated on demand.

The saving can be as much as $ 10,000 compared with the private system. Insurers fear if people don’t take out cover early in life to have a baby they may never buy it.