All patients having a procedure at a Montserrat Facility are required to pay their costs over the phone 2 days prior to their admission at the confirmation phone call.

Patients Covered by Private Health Care

Montserrat Day Hospitals is a “Simplified Billing” Hospital. You will be informed prior to the procedure of all out-of-pocket expenses. Simplified Billing means that, with your consent, the accounts for your procedures will be sent to the relevant health funds.

If you have adequate cover for your procedure the account will be settled with them. If you are not fully covered you will be asked for payment over the phone 2 days prior during your telephone confirmation which is in excess of the benefit payable.

Some patients may be requested to provide a ‘Co-Payment’ which contributes to amounts paid by your health fund provider. You should be aware that many policies do not cover all costs associated with Hospital and Medical services.

If biopsy tissue is sent for pathology you may receive another account from the pathology service provider.

Montserrat has agreements with most major private health funds such as Medibank Private, HCF (including Manchester Unity), GMHBA, NIB, Alliance, DVA and many more. Some of these agreements are what is known as Private Health Fund Agreements and some of these agreements are under Tier 2 arrangements. In all cases, you will be advised of all out-of-pocket expenses prior to your procedure. Some of these arrangements provide for further ‘co-payments’ by patients and you will be advised at the time of booking.

Our Financial Information Process works in the following manner:

1. You are informed at the time of your original enquiry/booking and you will be advised when the amounts are payable;
2. You are informed at the time we confirm your procedure (48 Hours Prior) and it is Montserrat Policy that payment is to be made over the phone at this time to secure your appointment;
3. You are informed at the facility and asked to sign an informed financial consent document.

Frequently Asked Questions:

What is an excess? An excess is imposed by your health fund and contributes to the initial cost of an episode. It varies depending on your fund and level of cover. We are unable to advise what it will be due to these variables and it is best to check with your fund. The excess paid is similar to the excess you would have on your car insurance or home and contents insurance.
What is a co-payment? A co-payment is imposed by your health fund as a contribution by you to various costs associated with certain types of procedures. Once again, this is dependent on the fund and level of cover so you will have to investigate this matter with your fund.
What is an Out of Pocket expense? An Out of Pocket expense is imposed by the Hospital Provider (Montserrat). This is charged in instances where we do not have a formal agreement with a Health Fund and are entitled to do so as a Tier 2 Accreditated Facility by the Department of Health & Ageing.

Up Front Payments:

In some instances, we request that you pay for various services provided by Montserrat and our Specialists upfront. The primary purpose of this policy is to ensure that you are fully paid before the day of your procedure, allowing the day to be focused solely on clinical care and not on any financial matters. This allows your experience to be significantly improved on the day. Upfront payments include items such as specialist consultations, Nurse Preparation Clinics, Self-Insured Patient fees, out-of-pocket expenses, and Health Fund excesses. If you need any further information regarding this, please ask the friendly staff in our call centre, as these charges change each year.

Self-Insured patients

Self-Insured patients will be provided with a cost estimate for their procedure. Payment will be required at the time of booking or at the confirmation phone call, two days prior to the procedure. All self-insured patients need to have paid for all expenses at least 48 hours before their procedure, or we cannot give them a final confirmation. This excludes the Anaesthetist whose fees will not be known until the time taken to undertake the procedure is known. However, where Montserrat bills on behalf of the Anaesthetist an imprint of your credit card will be taken.

Theatre Fees

The theatre fees are payable based on an estimate of time in theatre made by your surgeon prior to admission. If the time in theatre exceeds the estimate then additional charges will be applied. This is primarily determined by the time taken by the Surgeon to perform the procedure.

Work Cover

If you are claiming Work Cover insurance, company approval will need to be obtained prior to your admission. Please check with your doctor, or with us, that approval has been granted for your procedure.

Veterans Affairs

Veteran’s Affairs do not always cover hospital and doctors fees. Prior approval is usually required for your procedure to be undertaken at our facility. Please check with our reception staff for advice. Gold Cardholders are covered in full for all endoscopy procedures. White Card holders require prior approval and should, therefore, contact us on (07) 3833 6701 to determine eligibility.

Overseas Patients

Montserrat facilities welcome referrals to see overseas visitors and students. Our locations close to Brisbane’s QUT and the University of Queensland make us a logical choice. You should consult your private health fund as you may be entitled to a refund/payment after visiting one of our facilities. Overseas patients should also ask their GP for a referral to Montserrat to see one of our Specialists. If you are an overseas patient who requires a Colonoscopy, please advise us of your current location so we may organise a remote Prep Clinic and Kit for you by mail.

Overseas patients will be quoted the Overseas patient rate which is greater than that paid by an Australian Medicare cardholder, due to their being no access to Medicare or the Health Safety Net. Overseas patients with insurance will be required to pay upfront and will be provided with all documentation in order to make a claim in their own country, subject to the terms of their own Health Funds.

Pensioners

Montserrat is pleased to be able to offer a discount on our normal rates to Aged Pension Cardholders that are seen via our Open Access Endoscopy Service. Pensioners should contact our staff on (07) 3833 6701 to enquire about these rates. Self-insured aged pensioners will also be provided with a cost estimate for their procedure. Payment will be required on the day for those patients who can only pay by cash. Please keep in mind that if you are an aged pensioner and you also hold current Health Insurance, you will need to decide whether to proceed as an aged pensioner or an insured patient as you are unable to use both. However, you will still receive the pension rates for your preparation appointment, should you require one.