Hi Michelle,
Blair did my surgery in October 06 and I'm with HBA. I accessed my Super for the out of pocket expenses. I got $6,500 out, probably should have made it about $7,000 but you get a 20% rebate on any amounts of your out of pocket over $1500 on your tax. I got $900 back on my tax. I'm not sure if HBA have changed their policy but I didn't have to pay out of pocket for the assistant surgeon and they covered the whole amount of Blair's fee that has an item number. Blair does have a $4500 fee on top of that which cannot be claimed on your health insurance. There are cheaper surgeons and I'm sure they're good but I didn't really look into any others. I've always been happy with my decision.
Good luck with it all
Vicky