Breast Reduction Surgery Cost Bupa

The discomfort that comes with having large breasts can be reduced with breast reduction surgery. It’s crucial to remember that the operation won’t reduce the size of your breasts. By eliminating extra skin and fat, it really lessens the amount of breast tissue that is already there in your chest. The tissues are then replaced in their original positions to create a more symmetrical form.

In today’s society, breast reduction surgery is one of the most common cosmetic procedures. It is also one of the priciest cosmetic procedures offered by private doctors or clinics. If you have health insurance that includes cosmetic procedures, your insurer might cover all or a portion of this cost depending on the specifics of your plan.

In this post, we’ll also get answers to questions like does Bupa cover cosmetic surgery and does Bupa cover tummy tucks.

Breast Reduction Surgery Cost Bupa

A year before the NHS was established, in 1947, Bupa, a British healthcare organization, was established in the UK. Currently, Bupa owns healthcare businesses all around the globe. Bupa provides private healthcare; thus, its clients must either have private health insurance or have the money to pay for services out of pocket. One of the major benefits of receiving care from a firm like Bupa is that the patient does not have to wait on the NHS waiting list, which may occasionally be quite long. Most procedures performed at Bupa hospitals are not cosmetic. These therapies typically aim to enhance quality of life or even save lives, as in the case of cancer or varicose vein surgery.

However, in more recent years, Bupa has gained popularity for treatments that are not absolutely necessary. Bupa currently provides a variety of surgical and non-surgical cosmetic procedures. The NHS does not cover the majority of cosmetic surgical procedures. Cosmetic surgery is typically only performed when a patient is physically or psychologically suffering. Hence, the majority of cosmetic surgery is performed in a private setting.

Bupa offers various non surgical cosmetic treatments at three specialist centres in the UK. At the London Bank Centre and the Solihull Centre (in the West Midlands) Bupa offers various forms of cosmetic dentistry, including tooth whitening, implants and veneers. The West End Centre in West London offers a range of cosmetic skin treatments, including microdermabrasion, acne treatment and laser hair removal.

In 2008 Bupa acquired the large and world renowned Cromwell Hospital in South London. It is from here that Bupa offers an extensive range of surgical cosmetic procedures. The Cromwell specialises in cosmetic surgery of the face, body and breasts. Treatments include nose reshaping, breast augmentation, eyelid surgery and liposuction.

Prices for Non Surgical Cosmetic Treatments:

Each cosmetic surgery or non-surgical procedure’s cost will vary depending on the precise care each patient needs. Nonetheless, most procedures will often fall into the same price ranges. With Bupa, non-surgical skin procedures can start as low as £45 for laser hair removal. Microdermabrasion, which eliminates dead skin cells and provides the face a more “youthful” appearance, starts at £60 for acne treatment. Starting at £69 for skin peels and £199 for wrinkle treatments, respectively.

Cosmetic dental procedures can be highly expensive. Dental implants can cost between £1,500 and £2,000 per tooth, though individual costs can vary. Veneers start at £650 for each veneer. Depending on the procedure used, tooth whitening might cost between £450 and £775. Fillings in the color of a tooth start at £175.

Prices for Surgical Cosmetic Treatments

The cost of surgical procedures will also vary depending on the patient’s specific requirements. Breast reduction surgery will cost between £3,700 and £5,500, while breast implants range in price from £3,400 to £5,000. Between £2,850 to £3,600 is the price of eyelid surgery, which entails removing extra, bulging skin from the upper eyelids. Naturally, the cost of liposuction will vary depending on how much fat is removed, but it typically ranges from $1,550 to $5,000. The starting price for a nose job or reduction is about £3,000, while belly tucks range in price from £3,800 to £5,200.

Health Insurance Premium Increases

Increases in health insurance premiums agreed to by Federal Government since 2010

When a patient pays a Gap, the PHI does not pay their scheduled NoGap fee when they reimburse the patient. Medicare pays 75% of the scheduled fee back to the patient and the health fund pays the remaining 25%. You can see from the below table that if a patient that pays a gap for their abdominoplasty, the health funds will pay $246.40 back to the patient instead of roughly $700 (No gap fee – $985.70).

Despite the noise that PHIs make in the media about doctor’s fees, most of them want to pay less than the fair rate as it results in a smaller payment overall. This results in greater profits for their shareholders and management salaries.

BUPA is owned in the UK, so does not have the same reporting requirements as the other funds. Their annual revenue in Australia is probably $334 million with an annual growth of 18% based on their UK shareholders information available online. Their average premium increase since 2010 is 43.7%.

Private Health Insurance Financials

Comparison of profits, dividends, and CEO salaries of major private health insurers

The above data was researched on 7^th June 2018 through Google searches of the financial sections of major newspapers, and the publicly available company annual reports.

The only health fund that we are aware of that pays AMA fees is Doctors Health, and you need to be a doctor (or family) to get into this health fund. Most mutual funds (not for profit) tend to pay back more to their members. Many of these funds require a membership of some description – for example Doctors Health, Teachers Health. HCF is a widely available not for profit (at June 2018) health fund.

The normal waiting period for elective procedures is 12 months, unless you grab a deal whilst the PHIs are trying to get loyalty with an offer that includes short waiting periods. How much will you pay out to your PHI whilst waiting for coverage?

The following is based on a search on privatehealth.gov.au for Top Level Cover. Of the 38 listed health funds, 12 are restricted. This table assumes the following

• Single patient, no dependents, living in NSW
• Medicare eligible
• Hospital coverage only, no extras
• Private hospital cover for most services including non-cosmetic plastic surgery
• No excess

Note that of the larger funds, NIB did not offer a policy with no excess that was searchable on the government private health insurance website.

So how does a 1 year membership compare to those hospital costs? I’ve chosen abdominoplasty & breast reduction as two scenarios to test. The hospital costs are individual from hospital to hospital and change over time. Hospital costs & Medicare rebates are accurate for June 2018.

Abdominoplasty Cost Savings

Breakdown of costs for an abdominoplasty with a 4 night hospital stay, and savings realised by having private health insurance coverage

Breast Reduction Cost Savings

Breakdown of costs for a breast reduction with a 1 night hospital stay, and savings realised by having private health insurance coverage

So almost all the time, patients end up saving by sitting out the 12-month waiting period. That sorts out the value in the initial operation.

What about the role of Plan B? Not every operation goes completely according to plan. Around 1% operations have an infection hematoma, or wound healing problem. And around 1–2% patients need a scar revision or an adjustment of their results. Having PHI allows your surgeon to admit you to their hospital so that they can fix those problems. Dr Gavin Sandercoe usually NoGaps patients who have post operative complications. Note that some health funds will then begin informing patients to ask the surgeon to NoGap their initial procedure.

With this in mind, Dr Gavin Sandercoe recommends keeping your private health insurance running for at least 6 months after your procedure is completed and only ceasing coverage if you are completely happy with your result and do not wish for any further procedures.

Does Bupa Cover Cosmetic Surgery

In more recent times, however, Bupa has become increasingly popular for non essential treatments. Bupa now offers a wide range of cosmetic procedures, both surgical and non surgical. Most forms of cosmetic surgery are not available on the NHS. Only in rare circumstances, where a patient is suffering psychologically or physically, will cosmetic surgery be carried out. This means, therefore, that most cosmetic surgery is carried out privately.

Does Bupa Cover Tummy Tucks

It’s important to understand what your private health insurer covers when it comes to tummy tuck, (abdominoplasty), panniculectomy, or another excess skin removal surgery. Generally speaking, private health insurers cover some or all of the following:

• The cost of hospital accommodation
• Anesthesia fees
• The cost of medications
• Any pre-operative and post-operative tests or consultations

Please note, these inclusions typically require a comprehensive or “top cover” policy.

When comparing private health insurance policies, make sure to read the fine print and ask your private health insurer any questions you may have about coverage for tummy tuck procedures.