I am finding more pregnant patients are self-funding. They want private pregnancy care with a specialist obstetrician and are either not in health fund or they did not realise that the health fund cover they took out did not include private hospital pregnancy care.
To be self-funding you need to consider various expenses.
Obstetrician.
Obstetrician fees vary and it is important to contact the obstetrician’s office for information. Some obstetricians do not take self-funded pregnant patients. Check what are the out- of-pocket costs for the initial visit, subsequent antenatal visits, management fee, delivery fee, 6-week postnatal visit fee and any extra fees.
Paying more for an obstetrician does not mean you will get better quality pregnancy care. Paying more for your obstetrician does not mean your obstetrician is more experienced, is better quality and has fewer avoidable complications. Indeed the opposite is often the case. The younger and less experienced (and so more risk of avoidable complications) obstetricians often charge the most. I believe their focus is often more about making as much money as they can rather than being a good doctor.
We have special ‘bulk billed private pregnancy care program” running until 1st of November. If you book with me the only out-of-pocket obstetrician expense will be for the delivery of your baby. Phone my office (02 96803004) for more details.
Hospital
Private hospital fees vary, and it is important to contact the hospital for information.
Online information for local private hospitals is….
- Norwest Private Hospital 2-night stay for $4,000, 4-night stay for $5,670.
- Westmead Private Hospital 2-night stay for $4,200.
- Northshore Private Hospital 2-night stay for $4,200, 3-night stay for $5,200, 4-night stay for $6,200
Sydney Adventist Hospital information is not on their website but is available by phoning. 4-night stay for $8,957 (vag del), 5-night stay for $10,636 (CS del).
Mater Hospital information is not on their website but is available by phoning. 4-night stay for $7,000 (vag del), 5-night stay for $9,000 (CS del).
The above fees exclude the hospital fee if your baby needs admission to the special care baby unit (SCBU). SCBU admission is needed only for a minority of babies. The commonest reasons this would be needed are newborn jaundice treatment, breathing difficulties after birth, and if you are an insulin dependent diabetic for baby’s sugar monitoring. Such admissions are usually brief, for say 1 to 2 days. If a baby has more severe problem and does requires a longer admission baby is often transferred out to a hospital with a neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) as a public patient.
The above fees exclude the unlikely event that you need admission to the hospital’s intensive care unit.
Also check with the hospital that all medications are included. They should be but do not assume.
You can request with your obstetrician that any in-hospital pathology be bulk billed, so there is not out of pocket expense
Other doctors’ fees.
These include anaesthetist fee (epidural in labour or Caesarean section delivery are the commonest reasons), paediatrician fee (a paediatrician will manage you baby), surgical assistant’s fee (if Caesarean section delivery). Part of these fees can be claimed from Medicare.
Sometimes another specialist is needed for your care such as an endocrinologist (if diabetes) or renal physician (if severe hypertension or severe preeclampsia). There will be a gap to pay for these doctors.
Ultrasound scans.
A morphology ultrasound scan is important at about 20 weeks pregnancy. I suggest it be done by a specialised pregnancy ultrasound unit because of their extra expertise, special training and better ultrasound equipment. The two units I recommend are Ultrasound Care (SAN Ultrasound for Women) (out of pocket cost is $334.65) and Sydney Ultrasound for Women (out of pocket cost is $424.65). An alternative is cheaper radiology practice. But the trade-off is radiologists are not specialists in pregnancy ultrasound and so the report may be less accurate. Occasionally other ultrasound scans are needed or requested (such as the early anatomy ultrasound scan).
Pathology
I always bulk bill pathology and so there is nothing to pay. This is except for the NIPT (no Medicare rebate).
Occasionally there may be other unexpected expenses.
The other option is to join health fund
You will not be covered until 12 months after you join and so will have to delay your pregnancy. Assuming you have 56 weeks of membership before you deliver (so you are covered if deliver at 34 weeks) the three common funds (HCF, BUPA and Medibank Private) average almost $100 per week costs and so the health fund cost would be about $5,800 plus the health fund excess. But you may not conceive when you want and so the duration of health fund membership before you are pregnant may be longer. In that case the health fund cost would be greater.
I have found information provided by health funds on their websites confusing. I suggest you call the health funds you are considering to be sure of costing and make sure you have cover for you and your baby (especially if baby needs admission to the SCBU.
It may be cheaper to be self-funding, assuming you would only join a health fund for pregnancy care, and assuming you do your financial homework to choose the hospital and pregnancy care options that reduce your out-of-pocket costs.
Also remember if you join a health fund you need to postpone your pregnancy, as you need to be in the fund for a year before you are covered.
Many people have the financial capacity and financial reserves so to be self-funding is not a major financial concern. Other options for self-funding are to ask your parents or someone else to support you financially, to add the pregnancy costs to your home mortgage or to take out a bank loan.
