Pregnancy in victoria

[k886]

Hi

I'm in Victoria on a PR visa. I am hoping to expand my family at some point and just need to know what if anything I have to pay for during/post pregnancy.

 

I had to have an emergency c-section with my daughter if that was the case here would I need private medical insurance?

[blossom]

I'm not in vic, but it's the same all over, and currently 38 weeks with my second.

If you go public then you won't have to pay for any hospital care. You might have to pay for scans, depending on if you can find a bulk billing scan place. You can take your referral for scans to any scan place, so it's worth shopping around.

 

Public or or private is very a very hot debate. But if you want to go private most have a 12 month wait period before you are covered.

Also, most people have quite large out of pocket expenses with private (thousands).

[Tickled Pink]

I recently had my baby through the private system, I had a few complications which included an emergency admission at 29 weeks prior to a c section a few weeks later. I had private medical insurance which covered just about everything. There were a few bits to pay for, but it certainly wasn't thousands...

 

I will add that at one point I was making 3 hospital visits a week, had a load of scans (I lost count), 3 courses of steroids amongst other stuff, all paid for by private health. My only cost for the emergency admission was my $500 excess, and that was my total to pay for the year, so no more when I went in for the delivery.

[k886]

I'm not in vic, but it's the same all over, and currently 38 weeks with my second.

If you go public then you won't have to pay for any hospital care. You might have to pay for scans, depending on if you can find a bulk billing scan place. You can take your referral for scans to any scan place, so it's worth shopping around.

 

Public or or private is very a very hot debate. But if you want to go private most have a 12 month wait period before you are covered.

Also, most people have quite large out of pocket expenses with private (thousands).

 

Thanks blossom. Not long to go (: you must be so excited to meet your new arrival.

 

It's the 12 month wait that put me off the private cover. It's good to know I don't necessarily need it.

[k886]

Thanks tickled pink. It's really hard to know what to do for the best. Pregnancy is so unpredictable, but you have reassured me slightly.

 

Would having a c-section lead to extra costs if you were just with Medicare or is it covered if it is an emergency? I still don't understand medical care over here I'm used to the NHS.

[rosiew]

If you have a baby in the public system it is just like the NHS. Hospital visits for checks etc. If you need a c-section it is done by the doctors at the hospital - no charge to you. Your GP may also offer 'shared care' which means that they will do your prenatal checks at the surgery rather than going to hospital - and then it is off to the hospital to have your babies with the midwives as usual. This is how most babies are born, just like in the UK.

 

The difference here is that having a baby privately is more popular than it is the UK because with Medicare contributing to the cost and private insurance it is affordable for a lot of people. Some people also like to choose their own obstetrician to deliver the baby.

 

The difference with having a baby privately is that you choose an obstetrician and s/he manages your ante natal care and comes to the delivery. It is not about which hospital you are at - as soon as you have your own doctor you are a 'private' patient whatever type of hospital you are in. Medicare will cover part of your visits to the obstetrician for your prenatal checks at his or her rooms and your treatment in hospital (just like you normally claim back part of the cost of visits to the doctor). You will need private health insurance to cover the hospital stay. Most people find that the obstetrician fees are a lot more than you can claim back from Medicare - this reflects the cost of their insurance etc. I paid about $2000 in additional fees 15 years ago.....

 

At the end of the day if you are happy with the NHS style of management and birth then you should find it similar here relying on the public system. Talk to your GP about shared care too if that seems to work better for you. Melbourne has excellent public hospitals to have babies at such as the Mercy Hospital for Women in Heidelberg, The Royal Women's Hospital in Parkville and the Monash Medical Centre in Clayton. Personally I think it is better to choose one of these big hospitals as they can also take excellent care of your baby if extra care is needed.

[rosiew]

Thanks blossom. Not long to go (: you must be so excited to meet your new arrival.

 

It's the 12 month wait that put me off the private cover. It's good to know I don't necessarily need it.

 

The 12 months includes the pregnancy btw. So you have it for 3 or 4 months before conceiving

[blossom]

I recently had my baby through the private system, I had a few complications which included an emergency admission at 29 weeks prior to a c section a few weeks later. I had private medical insurance which covered just about everything. There were a few bits to pay for, but it certainly wasn't thousands...

 

I will add that at one point I was making 3 hospital visits a week, had a load of scans (I lost count), 3 courses of steroids amongst other stuff, all paid for by private health. My only cost for the emergency admission was my $500 excess, and that was my total to pay for the year, so no more when I went in for the delivery.

Congratulations. :-)

You seem to have got a good insurance company there (or maybe a higher level than some? I don't know how it works). The girls in my online mothers groups seem to have been paying on average around $2k just for the ob, with no anaesthetist fees etc if they need a c section.

[Tickled Pink]

My OB fees were only a few hundred out of pocket as I was able to claim back about 3/4 (full figure was about $1200). When I was researching private options there were a lot of people that said I'd be very out of pocket (these were people that had only had babies through the public system), but in my case this simply hasn't been the case. I guess it depends on you personally and what is or isn't important to you. I had such a rubbish time for most of my pregnancy that I was so glad I had the same familiar faces around me when it mattered (e.g. OB and midwives), they knew 'me' a bit better and knew when I was looking good or not so good without having to constantly ask or read my notes. I found this reassuring and much more at ease in their care. When I ended up in the ER my OB was there within a very short time (approx. 1 hour), and when I was feeling really poorly and unable to do a lot for myself I had a private ensuite room where my husband also had a bed and was able to stay for the whole time, meals for us both etc. Maybe if I'd had a straight forward pregnancy and required minimal intervention up to and during labour I might feel very different, but the continuity of care among other things meant it was worth going private for me... I had no reason to think prior to pregnancy that anything like what happened would, I was incredibly low risk factor for everything... but I ended up in the 3% of people that have the problems I did. If you go public there is 97% chance you'll have an uneventful journey, and you'll be in and out in a jiffy with a beautiful healthy baby! My baby is thankfully all well now, but it was uncertain for a while and had I gone public where there are less scans and checks certain factors would have gone under the radar - I was told I would almost certainly have become an emergency come my due date had I gone full term. As it was, things were identified, monitored closely, and preventative measures were taken to plan and avoid this. Given my experiences I wouldn't choose anything other than private now, but then I am giving the perspective of the 'private not tried the public' system, whereas others will be able to give you the 'public not tried the private' system. Either way, Australia is not a third world country, and the healthcare practitioners are top notch so I'm sure whichever way you go it will be the right decision for you.

 

If you need an emergency c section you'll get that on the public system at no cost, you don't need private insurance to cover such an emergency if it came to that, you'll be entirely looked after, so don't worry about that.

 

Rosie is also correct on the wait period though - it includes pregnancy, so you can take out the insurance, then just wait 4 months or so before trying.

[Tickled Pink]

It was just the standard obstetric cover Blossom, but I have heard fees and charges can vary widely. I guess I'm fortunate that the OB I choose was a reasonably priced one!

[Roberta2]

There are a lot of UK midwives in the public system in Queensland. When my daughter had a baby in Brisbane, only the initial consultation was with her GP. Then because assessed as low risk, totally under the care of widwives, nearly all from the UK, until delivery in Royal Brisbane and Women's Hospital. Birthing suites private, with birthing pool if wanted. (Not always available though). Delivery more complicated than expected - posterior presentation- but all went well. Total cost: $50 - for overnight car park. Then regular visits at home by midwives. The baby had jaundice It was one of the midwives who diagnosed tongue tie. Save your money. Have your baby in a major public teaching hospital. (I have had private insurance all my life,by the way.)

[Sammy1]

Emergency c-section, baby on life support for weeks and a public medical system that supported us all the way. The public system here was second to none and I am very grateful.

 

There is really no need to go privately. Whilst we were in the NICU, babies were transferred there from private hospitals as the private hospitals simply did not have the same life saving equipment.

 

A terrible time, but I owe the public system everything.

[blossom]

It was just the standard obstetric cover Blossom, but I have heard fees and charges can vary widely. I guess I'm fortunate that the OB I choose was a reasonably priced one!

Yeah. It's like the scan fees where some people are bulk billed and others are charged $350 and told scans can't be bulk billed (total rubbish).

 

My first I had a fair few issues and still had the continuity of care. I had the same midwife through the whole process (who actually wasn't at the birth as she'd just delivered another baby and had to have a break). I also saw one of two OBs every four weeks and had extra scans every four weeks. They called up a renal Dr in another hospital when I first started having issues and he drove straight over to see me! He was there within half an hour! Pretty bloody pleased with that service lol.

And once baby was born we also got a private ensuite room with a bed for dad too (although no food for him lol).

 

This time I decided to do shared care so I see my GP for all my appointments (well most) and then just go to the hospital to give birth. I haven't liked this way anywhere near as much. I don't feel like we have gone through what will be happening anywhere near enough for my liking. I think the midwives are probably a bit better for that, and I've only seen one once.

Never mind, it will be over with very soon! Eeeekkkkkk!

[Tickled Pink]

Oh to see an OB every four weeks! I was every week, for 6 weeks it was more than... good job we shared the same sense of humour really, we needed it at times. At least it meant I saw the baby each time, which was a highlight. I guess its just the absolute certainty that going private bought me in terms of the bigger and more little things. I was able to choose the people I saw for example (being a Dr myself I like to do my research on people). I do have a friend who like you ended up in a private room through the public system, because it was available, so it can happen. But she didn't know that was going to be the case until the day. On the other hand i know several people who ended up in shared rooms of 4, being as unwell as i was I just wouldn't have wanted that, having to have other peoples visitors hanging around with only a curtain to separate us, and it helped me feel less anxious knowing exactly what I could expect in some areas as we already knew things were going to be difficult and unpredictable in others.

 

Being a Dr myself I work with both public and the private system, so I don't want to put one above the other in terms of what is better treatment wise. It really came down to what I felt was best for me, the more personal care I felt I got, and the little extra touches that just made me a little happier and a bit more comfortable but that aren't life and death. I have the insurance, it didn't cost me much extra, and the way things turned out it was the best choice for me. I really just wanted to put it out there to the OP and others that private options don't always cost thousands, because I'm proof it doesn't. Knowing this might help someone else's research and decision.