A massive Medicare overhaul is set to leave some patients thousands of dollars out of pocket as rebates will be slashed or dropped for hundreds of surgeries. The Health Department plans to change rebates for more than 900 procedures including common hip, shoulder and hand surgeries as early as July 1. A number of rebates will either be slashed or dumped altogether with patients now having to pay up to $10,000 for some surgeries. Patients will now have to cover the full cost of microsurgery for a common hip condition because Medicare will no longer accept the diagnosis, Daily Telegraph reported. The Department of Health said it had provided updates to health funds and admitted it might take until September for them to work them into their policies.

Source: Daily Mail June 06, 2021 02:07 UTC