At the very least, if you get a second opinion that's different from the first, and it turns out to be the correct one, you should be able to get your money back from the first doctor.
I am not claiming to be all aware on the big picture, but based on my personal experience till now as an Australian, an even better solution is free Medicare.
under the free medicare are you able to go see a different doc for the same thing just to get a second opinion? Is it much hassle/paperwork to get approved?
You’d go back to your regular non-specialist doctor, your GP, and ask for a new referral to a specialist, explain that you want a different one, and why… the GP would give you the referral.
You might end up seeing a “private” specialist - Medicare would pay some money toward it, but the gap, the extra bit, you pay yourself (or if you have medical insurance, your insurer pays it). The insurer doesn’t waste time checking before hand whether you are or are not “approved” - and the “gap” for seeing a specialist might be $200, not much more than that.
If you don’t want to pay any money, then you wait longer for a “public” specialist to be available. It might be the same actual specialist btw, as the public hospitals are good hospitals.
Sorry, its not exactly free like I described. When you are seeing experts (and when you really need second consult) you get back a small part of your money, but expert costs are high enough to deter most people from getting second opinion. But, no it is not a lot of hassle/paperwork for seeking second opinion.
