Costs for weight loss surgery vary depending on whether or not you are covered by your private health insurance. All our quotes include surgery, dietician costs, and bulk-billed follow up in an attempt to minimise hidden costs/extra out of pocket costs. This is so you can access appropriate aftercare without concern.
How much does a sleeve gastrectomy cost with insurance?
Out of pocket costs for a laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy are approximately $5000
This includes
- dietitian for 12months
- bulk billed visits with Dr Hamer for 3 years after your surgery
- ‘no gaps’ for any surgery related to your sleeve (with the exception of surgeries for weight gain) for 3 years after surgery
- Anaesthetic and assistant gaps
How much does a sleeve gastrectomy cost without insurance?
For patients interested in self funding their surgery, a detailed quote will be provided at your initial consultation.
We try very hard to keep the cost of a sleeve gastrectomy to less than $20000
This includes:
- hospital expenses,
- surgical fees,
- anaesthetic fees,
- dietician for 12months,
- bulk billed follow up with Dr Hamer for 3 years.
How much does a gastric bypass cost?
For patients with insurance out of pocket costs are approximately $3,500.
This includes:
- surgical fees,
- dietitian for 12months,
- bulk billed visits with Dr Hamer for 3 years after your surgery,
- ‘no gaps’ for any surgery related to your bypass (with the exception of surgeries for weight gain) for 3 years after surgery.
If you don’t have insurance a quote can be provided at the time of your initial consultation, costs are slightly higher than a sleeve gastrectomy due to the increased operating time and complexity.
Is weight loss surgery available through the public hospital?
Unfortunately weight loss surgery is not covered currently through Gosford Public Hospital.
Am I covered for weight loss surgery?
If you have private health insurance:
The item number a laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy is 31575 and for a laparoscopic bypass it is 31572. It is advisable to check with your health fund to confirm that your cover is appropriate.
If you don’t have private health insurance:
For patients not covered by health insurance it is usually possible to access your our your partners superannuation for an early release on compassionate grounds. We can provide you with 2 letters for your super fund which include a list of estimated expenses, and a form confirming you are suffering from severe obesity which is a life-threatening condition. You can find information about the “compassionate release of superannuation” on the Australian Tax Office -mygov account : ato.gov.au/early-release. (ph 131020). You also required a supporting letter from your GP as part of your application to access superaunnuation.
If you are covered by your health fund and only need to access your superannuation for the out of pocket costs, we can provide you with the necessary letter for this.
Super funds can take several weeks to process your request so allow plenty of time.
Surgery through the public system
Surgery for weight loss and diabetes is currently not offered through the public system on the central coast.