binkpits

Universalis

It's everywhere

MRI is covered by medicare as long as a specialist has signed the referral. If a GP refers or any doc who is not yet a specialist then medicare won't pay a cent. Even if the scan is medicare eligible it has to be done on a scanner that is allowed to bill medicare. There are limited licences to bill medicare and some radiology practices don't have them despite operating a scanner. It just means that every patient that goes there pays the total cost out of pocket regardless of who referred them. And then to further complicate the issue, even if you are referred by a specialist, and you go somewhere that has a license to bill medicare for MRI scans, the radiology practice has to agree to bulk bill you. If they want more than medicare are willing to pay, then you get the gap. Obviously with the increasing popularity of MRI, prices are getting a lot more competitive and bulk billed MRI is becoming more common but there are plenty of places that still don't do it.

Haha most patients I meet would prefer that over being cooped up inside an MRI machine for over an hour, but I guess thats because so many people have claustrophobia. The stuff they injected is iodinated contrast to show up blood vessels and the most common reaction is a hot flush that travels to the pelvis and feels like urination, and metallic taste in the mouth which apparently is pretty gross. At least it passes fairly quickly. The worse reactions are where the throat swells up and you can't breathe but thankfully they are extremely rare.

In any case, that was a great story and I'm glad you had such a positive outcome from such a scary situation.

No questions as such but wanted to say thank you. I'm a huge fan of all your work but especially your standup. I have seen all of your shows at least a dozen times if not more. I think I owe a lot of my sense of humour to your work and I have a lot of small sayings which come from your shows but I forget other people don't understand the reference too. I sometimes come off as weird I think as a result but it's worth it to laugh inside. So thank you for your brilliance. I can't wait to see you if you come to Australia again, specifically Brisbane perhaps?