Hospital Circular 15/2009: Hospital Circulars - Department of Health, Victoria, Australia

Hospital Circular 15/2009

Date Issued: 12 June 2009

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

Subject: Public Hospital fees – Changes

Private Admitted Patients - overnight stays, same day patients and hospital outreach service 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 2.5% (CPI movement for Australia March quarter 2008 to March quarter 2009). Accordingly the State Department of Human Services (DHS) has determined that effective 1 July 2009, Victorian public hospital private admitted patient bed day rates for 2008/2009 for private admitted: shared overnight stays, shared ward same day stays, and outreach hospital services stays will increase by 2.5%.

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 2008/2009 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 2008/2009 rates.

Should the State Department further wish to amend any of the above the published 2009/2010 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 2009/2010 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	356 247	682 507
Surgical/Obstetric	1 - 14 days 15 + days	329 247	647 507
Other	1 - 14 days 15 + days	286 247	569 507
Psychiatric	1 - 42 days 43 - 65 days 66 + days	329 286 247	647 546 507
Rehabilitation	1 - 49 days 50 - 65 days 66 + days	329 286 247	647 546 507

Table 2 - Private Same Day Admissions

Band	Fee Shared	Fee Single room
Band 1	208	274
Band 2	247	328
Band 3	287	379
Band 4	329	436

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	660 344
Surgical/Obstetric	1 - 14 days 15 + days	602 344
Other	1 - 14 days 15 + days	602 344
Psychiatric	1 - 42 days 43 - 65 days 66 + days	387 344 311
Rehabilitation	1 - 49 days 50 - 65 days 66 + days	564 344 260
Geriatric		344
Nursing Home Patient		201
Same Day Patient		482

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
Metropolitan Health and Aged Care Services