Went through this with my mum's knee replacement and the subsidised restructured hospital route was absolutely worth it for us, with realistic expectations. Yes the wait for a non-urgent op was around 4 months and the specialist clinics are crowded with long waits each visit, but the actual surgical quality is excellent, same skilled surgeons who also do private cases. The bill difference is enormous, our subsidised bill after government subsidy, MediSave and MediShield Life was a few thousand out of pocket, whereas the private quote was easily five to six times more. For a non-urgent condition where a few months of waiting won't cause harm, the subsidised route gives you world-class surgery at a fraction of the cost, and MediSave plus MediShield Life cushions most of it. The trade-off is purely time and less comfort, not worse medical outcomes, so unless the delay is medically risky, go subsidised.