Australia’s only private hospital offering no out-of-pocket costs to eligible patients insured with participating health funds officially opened its doors this week.
Groundbreaking agreements with Medibank and other funds mean that eligible members will not be charged out-of-pocket costs during their hospital stay at the new Adeney Private Hospital in Kew, Melbourne.
Out-of-pocket costs for surgeons, theatres, anaesthetists, imaging, pathology, medical infusions and for prescribed PBS pharmaceuticals, will not be charged to those patients.
No other private hospital in Australia was offering patients such a wide range of treatments with no out-of-pocket costs across the whole of their stay, said Adeney Private Hospital CEO and Registered Nurse, Louise O’Connor (pictured main image 2nd right).
“We’ve spent the last four years planning, negotiating, designing and creating a jointly owned hospital that ticks all these boxes. We are focused on giving patients the choice of flexible healthcare and recuperation in the right place, whether in hospital or at home, without the out-of-pocket costs that they have often had to bear.”
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The $100 million hospital is a collaborative joint venture between a group of medical professionals and Medibank’s health service delivery company Amplar Health.
More than a hundred doctors in specialties that include colorectal, breast, endoscopy, ENT, gastroenterology, oncology, orthopaedic, plastic and reconstructive, upper GI, urology, vascular and general surgery have committed to the venture.
The 60-bed hospital with five operating theatres is on the site of the former Cotham Clinic which was built in the 1960s and decommissioned in 2022. More than 130 staff will welcome the first theatre patients to arrive in early March.
The new hospital provides eligible patients with flexibility and choice, said Amplar Health Chief Executive Robert Read. “With the rising cost of living, we know how crucial it is to make healthcare more accessible. Adeney Private exemplifies how clinicians, health funds and hospital operators can work together to meet patients’ needs.”
The hospital broadens Medibank’s No-Gap program by offering eligible patients flexibility in how their care is provided and by reducing unnecessary hospital time and out-of-pocket expenses, he said.
While members’ individual excess arrangements with their funds still apply, Adeney Private is committed to no out-of-pocket costs across all services to eligible patients of participating contracted health funds.
The hospital has bi-partisan support from federal, state and local government representatives who attended the official launch on 18 February.
