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Yeah, you can't just rock up at a radiology centre. But I don't think it's that hard to get a referral from your GP, is it? For my first U/S (the $125 one) I said to my GP that I was worried about having an ectopic pregnancy. I think she knew that was a bit of a white lie, cause she gave me a wink and told me to go in 2-3 weeks cause "then you see a bit more".
I only read that about the 2 U/S being covered by Medicare on a different website ... I am pretty clueless about the whole Medicare system - and I am absolutely thrilled to get any money back at all! (the German system works differently)
Thanks Tootie for filling us in on that - so you always get $55 back (or whatever their scheduled amount is) per U/S? I understand the NT scan is not covered though, is that correct? Or do you also get a 'normal' U/S rebate for that?
Snowy
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Thanks Snowy and Tootie,
We only have 4 weeks to wait (only?!) so I will just hang in there until my first ob appointment.
Tootie, cant wait to tell everyone on BB about it! I am going to be so excited/nervous beforehand though!
Jess
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I'm not aware of the medicare limit on the number of U/S you have, but medicare will reimburse you 85% of the scheduled fee or the scheduled fee less $50, whichever is the greater refund to you. If you exceed an out of pocket expense of I think $800 or $1,000 or something for a calender year then you fall under the safety net scheme and they reimburse you 100% of the scheduled fee.
Re: the cost - my hospital charges different amounts for different stage ultrasounds, so the 1st trimester scans I had (dating & nuchal) only cost me $15 I think out of pocket each. And you definately need a referal from a doctor to have an ultrasound.
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I'm not 100% certain how it all works Snowy....i.e. how much you get back for every u/s, but from what I can tell, they charge different amounts depending upon what stage you are at, for example the nuchal fold scan is a different cost to that of the 18 - 20w scan (this has been the case with me). You always get a rebate as Jessica pointed out though. And yes, the nuchal fold scan is covered by Medicare.
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Definitely get a healthcare card if you can. I have one and I don't have to pay anything at all. I'm not sure if this is unusual, but it's fantastic as I seriously doubt we'd be able to afford to see an OB otherwise.
