Hi Happymum,

I think my pead bill was between $300 and $400. We were visited each day we were in hospital (I was in 5 days). I got 80% back because we were over the threshold and the rest was not covered by Private Health Insurance.
If you think the bill is excessive, perhaps contact other peads who operate in the hospital and ask what their fees are then contact the pead you were allocated and try to negotiate. It doesn't always work but I have heard of it working in some cases.
You can also look up what the scheduled fee (dictated by Medicare - what they consider a reasonable fee for the service but medical practitioners can charge over that fee in private practice). Just google Medicare Benefits Schedule then find the link for Search by item number and then enter the item number on your invoice. It will give a description of the service as well as show the scheduled fee and rebate. If you are over the medicare threshold level, you will get back 80% of the total bill.

HTH

MG