How much will cataract surgery cost?
I charge no gap for cataract surgery if you’re using your private health, and I offer fair pricing for uninsured patients who would like to pay for surgery out-of-pocket. Most importantly, all patients can enjoy a personalised approach with a range of premium lens implant options.
No-gap cataract surgery at Seaford Day Surgery
All privately-covered patients having their procedure with me at Seaford Day Surgery can take advantage of no-gap cataract surgery. This covers the range of personalised vision correction options, including trifocal IOLs, and utilises the state-of-the-art Alcon CENTURION® Vision System and Alcon VERION™ Image Guided System for precision IOL placement.
To enquire about no-gap surgery at Seaford, click here for contact details.
No-gap at Eastwood & Glenelg
I recently simplified my fees, so my privately insured patients will now pay no gap for cataract surgery, no matter where you choose to have your operation.
Please note that self-funded fees differ between hospitals, based on the hospital admission fee.
Make sure you’re covered
Cataract surgery requires a day surgery hospital admission, and is covered by most private health funds under their “Gold” or “Top ” hospital cover. A few “Silver Plus” plans and customised cover might also include cataract surgery. At the time of booking surgery, my staff will give you the procedure item numbers you’ll need to quote to your health fund to check if you’re covered.
To avoid surprises you can also check with your fund before your clinic appointment — the most common item number for cataract surgery is 42702.
If you have only recently increased your cover, there may be a waiting period with your health fund — check with them to find out.
Self-funded patients
Patients who are not privately covered for cataract surgery can still have the procedure as a private patient with me at either Seaford, Wayville, or Glenelg. In this case you pay the cost of the operation out-of-pocket, and are considered “self-funded”.
Self-funded fees vary depending on the facility, the lens choice, and the complexity of surgery. Because every eye is different it is impossible to give accurate fees on this website, but your particular fees will always be made clear before booking and going ahead with surgery.
To give you a rough idea, some principles apply (all fees listed are per eye):
I offer affordable surgery without compromising quality — feel free to ring around to ensure you’re getting a fair price
Aged pensioners are charged a lower concession rate, approximately $300 less
The Seaford Day Surgery self-funded fee — total out-of-pocket-cost — ranges from $2145 to $3295.
Any difference in cost is due to your chosen lens implant (set by the lens company), and whether or not you are a pensioner. For example in the price range above, the highest quote is for a non-pensioner having a toric trifocal IOL, which in my practice applies to around 3% of all self-funded patients
The total out-of-pocket fee is made up of the day surgery facility fee (equipment, nursing, etc), the lens implant, surgical consumables, the anaesthetist fee, the surgeon fee, minus any Medicare rebates
Are there any other costs?
All of the fees above are for the procedure itself. Other costs to be aware of are:
Post-operative eye drops: Around $15-30, paid to the pharmacy. Be sure to inform the day surgery if you have a health care concession card.
Appointment fees: All patients referred for cataract surgery will need a pre-operative appointment to confirm the diagnosis, carry out a comprehensive eye check, and take necessary eye measurements. Most parts of the appointment attract a Medicare rebate, but there will be a gap — please call the clinic for a fee estimate ahead of time. Clinic appointments and tests are not covered by your health fund (this is due to the rules governing private health funds)
Health fund excess: Some health insurance plans have an excess, which is an amount you agree to pay when you use your health insurance, usually in return for lower premiums. This amount is your co-payment to the hospital/day surgery and is not charged by me or the anaesthetist.
If you’d like to book or enquire about cataract surgery, get in touch.