Bupa advertisements on TV implies that if you have hospital cover, you get a private room. That is a misleading advertisement in my opinion. I have Top hospital cover and just discovered that even though I have private hospital cover I am not guaranteed a private room. I was informed by Bupa that the allocation of private rooms is up to the hospital. And that they have no control over the situation.
Why should a pay top hospital cover and be allotted a shared room. There should be 2 levels of cover one for shared and one for private rooms.
So I am of the opinion that Bupa has misleading advertisements. Shame on you Bupa.
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Have you seen the Choice review on health insurers @Ozzie_Girl ?
Bupa is correct. Room allocation is completely up to the hospital, and is on a ‘NEEDS BASIS’. This applies equally no matter who your private health insurer is. What you are paying top cover for is ‘a private room, if there is one available (for part, or all, of your stay in hospital)’.
Consider if you were admitted to hospital at a time when all the private rooms are full. The hospital can not create another private room just because of your insurance cover. Even if you do get a private room, you might get bumped out if there is an urgent need for a private room, say if there is someone who is infectious, or needs special care, etc.
That is the way things are in this inadequately resourced health system of ours. If this situation is not acceptable to you, perhaps you need to reduce the level of your cover.
Equally, you might consider that IF EVER you do have an URGENT NEED (not desire) for a private room, I’m sure the hospital will do their absolute best to provide it for you, irrespective of your insurance cover.
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That maybe so, a few months ago I needed surgery and requested a private room. When I arrived on the day, I was told that I would be in a shared room as there were no private rooms (4 beds and bathroom out in the hall !) I informed them that I would not be staying and that I would come back when the hospital could provide a private room. And behold in an instant they found a private room, when I looked around there were a few private rooms unoccupied. In my opinion the hospitals try to put as many patients into shared rooms as that is more economical for them (eg only 1 bathroom to clean instead of 4) I would accept that if the situation was an emergency then I would have no issue with a shared room but I think that giving them 5 weeks notice is more then adequate. The health funds should have a 2 tier insurance 1 for shared and 1 for private. J
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Ozzie_Girl: Sounds like a job for a Choice investigation!
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