Private Health Insurance - Cost of having a baby in Aus

Roses · 03-30-2005, 07:29 PM

Hi Aussie chicks

Obviously I am newly preggas and have no clue what I am doing

We have only shared our news with immediate family and no one else knows the answers.

DH and I have had private health cover since we got married 2.5 years ago. For a long time we have been paying extra to be covered for pregnancy.

I have booked myself into a private maternity hospital (NIB told us this would be $400 excess) but I have heard other people say that even with private health cover, to have your baby in a private hospital means you would be up for $4000 - $6000 anyway!

Do any of you know if this is correct? Even if you are specifically covered for pregnancy?

Any help or advice you have would be appreciated!

Many thanks,
Brooke

Ren · 03-30-2005, 10:51 PM

I would call NIB. They are the only ones who can give you the right answer.

Unfortuntly the private health care providers can be bastards sometimes. My dad was really sick last year, and despite having private health insurance for years we still had to pay $10,000. What's the point in having it, unless they actully help you out?

Sapphire Spirit · 03-31-2005, 09:48 AM

Hi Brooke!
Hope all is going well for you and you aren't suffering from morning sickness or any other yucky bits of pregnancy.
I'm trying to think back to when Lachlan was born (although it was only 2.5 yrs ago, I'm a little rusty!!). It definitely DID NOT cost us thousands of dollars. It all depends on what your excess/co payment is - if you can't remember that you will need to ring your fund to check.
We paid a $250 co payment for the hospital stay and we paid a booking fee to the obgyn. That was about $150 for us as I only started seeing my obgyn at 28 weeks because we moved to Brisbane and I changed docs. The REAL fee was double that I think. With all of the doctors insurance hoo-haa those booking fees have gone up quite a bit. I know dr's here in Brisbane now charge upward of $500. One of my friends paid $800 for her dr's booking fee.
The only other thing we were out of pocket with was for telephone calls while I was in hospital - oh and the pediatrician also. That wasn't that much, and we got alot back from Medicare.
There is also the cost of your regular checkups (which you get some back from Medicare). We were not out of pocket much at all. I had a c/section and had all of the bells and whistles that go along with that and we did not incur any other charges. The anaethetist's bill was also covered by our private health insurance.
I know some people who have paid gaps when having a baby and have definitely paid more than what we did. I think it depends on your level of cover, excess, etc. I reckon it would be worth ringing your dr's office and your fund to get a clearer picture of what that cost may be for you.
Lots of think about isn't it?
It's so exciting

.
Good Luck!

Amy

Aussie Girl · 04-01-2005, 11:31 PM

talk to your OB about their fees, that's where any extra will come from. I used to work for HCF and while the hospital fees are controlled, a doctor can charge what they like above the Medicare scheduled fee. Private health funds can only pay more than the medicare fee if they have an agreement with the doctor that limits his fees. So, as an example, if the scheduled fee is $800 and your doctor charges $1500 you could be out of pocket $700