Obstetrician costs in the private system

[Miss E]

Hi there,

I've just been advised of my out of pocket costs for my Obstetrician, and nearly fell off my chair when I discovered that we're looking at over $3,500 out of pocket just for obstetrics ? that's without the hospital co-payments, aneasthetics, pediatricians etc. We're planning on going through the private system and having the baby at Freemasons. Just wondering if this is normal???

[briggsy's girl]

i've read of people who's out of pocket costs have been $4800 and higher.

it's pretty "normal" in the private system i think

[feeb]

Hi there i had my bub at freemasons in july, costs were:

$300 deposit to hospital
1st appt $160 got i think $80ish back from medicare
20 weeks $3000 about $1800 back from medicare

figures may be slightly out
that was all for ob

then had anethatist and peadiatrician costs.

good luck with it all

[Miss E]

Thanks... Just wondering who your ob was? It still seems a lot cheaper than what mine has advised... I am thinking I may have a look at changing...

Gotta love the way they wait untill you're nine weeks and all booked into the hospital before they tell you their costs

[OceanPrincess]

Hi,

Surely I'm not the only one who has not paid anywhere near that much out of pocket????

A lot of it depends on how much the Obs charges versus how close you are to the Medicare safety net.

I paid:
$150 deposit for Hospital (not sure if this is refundable or what exactly but not from Medicare, this is just an out of pocket expense)
$280 for first Obs visit, of which I received $120 back from Medicare

We also paid for scans and some other tests, all of which we claimed back through Medicare and all of which contributed towards the safety net threshhold.

Then I paid nothing more for the Obs until I received the "big" bill at 20 weeks, which was around $3,200. However at this point DH and I were well over the threshhold with Medicare and we received 80% of that back - so over $2,500. All up out of pocket is just short of $1,000 so far.

And for the care I have received from my Obs, I am delighted with this cost and was more than happy to pay it.

I've been told that all hospital costs for the delivery will be handled by my health insurance - so we will pay our $150 excess and that is it.

This includes any anaesthetists costs or (hoping we don't need it) pediatrics.

I think the important thing is that it is not really so much about how much the Obs costs (though I'm sure there's a good deal of variation and its definitely worth ringing around if you're concerned) - it is about what your private health insurance covers (for hospital costs) and how close you are to the Medicare safety net (for costs prior to birth).

Medicare can tell you how close you are by the way - give them a call.

[Miss E]

Ocean Princess, you're making feel a little bit more positive about the whole thing. Just wondering who your OB is and what hospital you're going with?

I've spoken with my health insurance etc and am more comfortable with what they cover. For me it is more about my OB's fees which seem extremely high.

At 20 weeks they send you a bill for $1700 which they advise is not claimable from private health or medicare (even under the safety net)

Then at 30 weeks they send you a bill for $3,500 which isn't claimable through private health, but can be claimed under the Safety Net (so after the first $1,000 you can get 80% back of the remaining $2,500 = $2,000)

So all up I'm looking at $3,200 out of pocket for OB alone, plus the costs for my initial and follow up consults...

Am seriously considering changing OB's but am finding that the couple who I have called this morning are already booked up...

Any recommendations anyone can give would be very much appreciated

[~ Mylitta ~]

Hi there i had my bub at freemasons in july, costs were:

$300 deposit to hospital
1st appt $160 got i think $80ish back from medicare
20 weeks $3000 about $1800 back from medicare

figures may be slightly out
that was all for ob

then had anethatist and peadiatrician costs.

good luck with it all

I'm seeing Pregs too and he's fantastic. My costs are about the same, except it must have gone up a little because my 20 wk figure was $3400. The girls were fantastic about payment though and offered for me to pay it over a few months worth of visits. I haven't taken the receipts to medicare of my private health insurer yet, so not sure how much I'm getting back yet.

[Captain]

Unfortunately, yes, that sounds pretty normal. For the Ob, I paid about $80 per consolt, $1500 pregnancy planning fee and then about the same again for the delivery. I'm still in shock because the bills are still rolling in. And the government doesn't think we need the $5000 baby bonus.