Hospital Circular 14/2010: Hospital Circulars - Department of Health, Victoria, Australia

Hospital Circular 14/2010

Date Issued: 11 June 2010

Distribution: Public Hospitals

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

Subject: Public Hospital fees – Changes

Private Admitted Patients - overnight stays and same day patients
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 2.9% (CPI movement for Australia March quarter 2009 to March quarter 2010). Accordingly the State Department of Health has determined that effective 1 July 2010, Victorian public hospital private admitted patient bed day rates for 2009/2010 for private admitted shared overnight stays and shared ward same day stays will increase by 2.9%.

The private admitted single room accommodation rates for acute treatment is not subject to a Commonwealth default benefit. The State Department has increased the published rate for the private admitted single room rate by 3.5% on the 2009/2010 rates.

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

The State Department has increased the published rate for compensable admitted patients by 3.5% on the 2009/2010 rates.

Should the State Department further wish to amend any of the above the published 2010/2011 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 2010/2011 are as follows:

Table 1 - Private Overnight Stay

Patient Classification	Length of Stay	Fee per day ($)
Patient Classification	Length of Stay	Shared	Single
Advanced Surgical:	1 - 14 days 15 + days	366 254	706 524
Surgical/Obstetric:	1 - 14 days 15 + days	339 254	670 524
Other:	1 - 14 days 15 + days	294 254	589 524
Psychiatric*	1 - 42 days 43 - 65 days 66 + days	339 294 254	670 565 524
Rehabilitation*	1 - 49 days 50 - 65 days 66 + days	339 294 254	670 565 524

Table 2 - Private Same Day Admissions

Band	Fee Shared	Fee Single room
Band 1	214	284
Band 2	254	339
Band 3	295	392
Band 4	339	451

Table 3 - Compensable Admitted Patients (excluding WorkCover and TAC recipients)

Patient Classification	Length of Stay	Fee per day ($)
Advanced Surgical	1 - 14 days 15 + days	683 356
Surgical/Obstetric	1 - 14 days 15 + days	623 356
Other	1 - 14 days 15 + days	623 356
Psychiatric *	1 - 42 days 43 - 65 days 66 + days	401 356 322
Rehabilitation	1 - 49 days 50 - 65 days 66 + days	583 356 269
Geriatric **		356
Nursing Home Patient		208
Same Day Patient ***		499

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.

Lance Wallace
Executive Director
Hospital & Health Service Performance