Dr Kumar’s practice offers an in-house instalment plan. No finance company is involved, there is no thir d-party credit contract, and the arrangement is directly with the practice.
The structure is straightforward: a deposit when surgery is booked, and the balance one month before the operation.
How the instalment plan works
| Stage | What happens |
|---|---|
| Consultation | $400, with a Medicare rebate of approximately $88 |
| Itemised quote | Issued after the hospital has checked your fund |
| Cooling-off period | At least seven days before anything can be booked |
| Second appointment | Your questions, and consent |
| Deposit | Paid when surgery is booked, which can only happen after the cooling-off period has ended |
| Balance | Due one month before the operation |
The seven-day cooling-off period is not a formality. It exists so that the decision is not made in a single appointment, and no booking or deposit is taken before it has run.
Superannuation
Early release of superannuation on compassionate grounds is decided by the ATO, not by Dr Kumar and not by your fund. Dr Kumar’s team can discuss whether a procedure may genuinely meet the requirements, but it is ultimately a decision between you, your financial planner and the ATO.
Two practical points. Applications take time, so start early if you are considering it. And a supporting report from a treating practitioner is usually part of the application — ask about it at your consultation rather than after you have applied.
What you are paying for
Five separate parts, quoted separately: the surgeon, the anaesthetist, the surgical assistant, the hospital, and garments and aftercare. Medicare contributes to the first three where an item applies; your health fund contributes to the hospital where your cover allows.
That is why there is no package price. What skin removal surgery costs sets out the parts, and the Medicare criteria determine the largest variable.
Ways patients reduce the total
- Meet a Medicare item. The documentation that supports it costs nothing and takes about three months to build with your GP.
- Combine procedures. One anaesthetic and one hospital admission rather than two, and one hospital excess rather than two. What can be combined.
- Check your cover properly. The hospital component is usually the largest single part. Health fund cover.
- Consider the public system where criteria are met, accepting the waiting time.
What to be careful of
Be wary of any arrangement that pressures you to commit at the first appointment, or that offers a discount for booking on the day. The cooling-off period exists precisely because this is not a decision to make under time pressure, and a practice that works around it is telling you something.
Equally, compare quotes on what they include. A figure that omits the surgical assistant, the garments or twelve months of follow-up is not the same figure.
Common questions
Is there interest on the instalment plan? The terms are set out in your quote. It is an arrangement with the practice, not a credit product.
Can I pay the deposit before the cooling-off period ends? No. Booking, and therefore the deposit, comes after it.
What if I need to postpone? Speak to the practice as early as you can — the hospital and anaesthetist schedule around your date.
Is the consultation fee credited against surgery? Ask at your appointment; it is set out in your quote.
Can I use a payment app or third-party lender? That is your choice to make independently. The practice’s own plan does not involve one.
Next step
Bring a GP referral to a consultation and you will leave with an itemised quote and the payment terms in writing. Dr Kumar consults at Westmead, Penrith and Orange. Call 1300 267 726. More about costs and your first visit.
All surgery carries risks, and individual results will vary. Read more about the risks of surgery here. A GP referral is required to see Dr Kumar.
Dr Rohit Kumar (MED0001630444) Registered medical practitioner, specialist plastic surgeon (specialist registration in surgery – plastic surgery).
