Hospital Circulars Main Index < Hospital Circulars 2005 Index <

Hospital Circular 12 /2005

Date Issued: 6 June 2005

Distribution: Public Hospitals

Attention: Public Hospitals, Extended Care Centres, Metropolitan Health Services, and Regional Offices

Subject: Public Hospital fees - Changes

(i) Private Admitted Patients - overnight stays, same day patients and hospital outreach service patients

(ii) Compensable Admitted Patients (excluding WorkCover and TAC recipients)

Public Hospital Fees - Changes

(i) Private Admitted Patients - overnight stay, same day and hospital outreach service patients.

The Commonwealth has advised that the overnight accommodation basic default benefits for shared ward acute hospital treatment in public hospitals in Victoria, and for hospital outreach services, will be increased by 2.4% (CPI movement for Australia March quarter 2004 to March quarter 2005). Accordingly the State Department of Human Services (DHS) has determined that effective 1 July 2005, Victorian public hospital private admitted patient bed day rates for 2004/2005 for private admitted: shared overnight stays, shared ward same day stays, and outreach hospital services stays will increase by 2.4%.

The private admitted single room rates for acute treatment is not subject to a Commonwealth default benefit. The State Department has increased the published rate for private single room overnight and same day accommodation by 4% on the 2004/2005 rates.

(ii) Compensable Admitted Patients (excluding WorkCover and TAC recipients).

The State Department has increased the published rate for compensable admitted patients by 4% on the 2004/2005 rates.

Should the State Department further wish to amend any of the above the published 2005/2006 private patient accommodation charges, hospitals will be notified by DHS Hospitals Circular.

It is of course a matter for individual hospitals to weigh up the various considerations in charging the published public hospital single accommodation charge. Considerations might include the benefit health funds will assign to the public hospital; the co-payment a partially covered patient is willing to pay as an elected private patient; and – subject to sound internal polices and practice, - the amount of co-payment (eg Front end deductible) a hospital can viably forgo.

Published rates for 2005/2006 are as follows:

Table 1 - Private Overnight Stay

Table 2 - Private Same Day Admissions

Table 3 - Hospital Outreach Services

Table 4 - Compensable Admitted Patients (excluding WorkCover and TAC recipients)

Public hospitals are reminded that:

• Fees for patients in single bed rooms are to be charged only when a patient is accommodated in the single bed room by his or her choice (that is, a patient accommodated in a single room for medical reasons is not to be charged single room rates); and
• The private bed day fees exclude private patient charges for surgically implanted prostheses, human tissue items, and other medical devices, the reference for which is Appendix A of the State fees manual.

Shane Solomon
Executive Director
Metropolitan Health and Aged Care Services