How much is an Ob????

How much are people paying for an obs? Just interested. We are going public, like we did for # 1 - found no probs, was actually in a double room and the girl next to me paying like over $100 a night for her bed and i was paying nothing (well, through medicare it feels like nothing).... Are you all in a private health fund?

ANother thing - Obs seem to do ultrasounds early - someone said they going to have theirs at 9 weeks??? Is it safe to have a number (like more than the standard 2 - one at 12wks, one at 18wks) of ultrasounds during your pregancy? (im not trying to worry anyone, i just have a lot of time on my hands !!!)

Hi mbear,

We paid roughly $3000 for 'out of pocket' costs to our OB. This does not include any pathology work done (12w & 19w u/s or blood tests) but if you apply for the 'saftey net' threshold through Medicare then the more you spend the larger the rebate. Of the $3000 OB money we got roughly $1700 back but now that we have passed the threshold we recieve 80% of everything else we spend back. We do have PHC but that will really only come into play when we are admitted at the hospital for the birth.

Also, I have a friend who is a doctor/radiologist & he says that there is no danger in ultrasounds.... his nurses who were pregnant used to give themselves u/s all the time & there is no danger to you or the baby.

Thats my take on it.... hope that helps :)

My OB's management fee is just under $1100. Not sure how much we'll get back from Medicare yet. My first visit at 8 weeks included a scan and is about $70 out of pocket. The rest of my antenatal visits are bulk-billed. Most pathology has been bulk-billed although the triple-test I had today was $90 and not sure how much Medicare will refund out of that.

My hospital costs are only my excess of $50 a night unless we upgrade our cover.

To me it is worth it because I had already seen my OB for gyno problems and he knows my history.

Only you can make the decision as to what is right for you.

My OB's management fee is $2600. This is broken down into 2 parts - $1600 at 20 weeks and the other $800 at 30 weeks. The $1600 portion i will get 80% back from Medicare as i have reached the threshold, the $800 portion i dont get anything back on this component.

I had my first ultrasound which was also my CVS at 12 weeks and my OB did not want to do anything earlier. He seemed to be happy with my dates based on my last period and unless i was anxious to have an ultrasound he did not see the need for it. If i had prior issues ie miscarriage etc or bleeding then im sure he would not have hesitated in ordering an ultrasound.

My CVS was done in a private ultrasound clinic and was expensive, all up about $900 for the procedure and lab work, i got about $500 of that back from Medicare.

My 18 week scan was also done at a private clinic and it cost $180 of which i got $80 back from Medicare.

Also blood tests/lab work i have not been bulk billed and have been entitled to the scheduled medicare rebate for these.

Not sure what i will be up for as far as hospital costs, but i have private health insurance which should cover most of my stay

So yes, going via an OB and via private ultrasound clinics is not a cheap excercise. For me, it gave me the peace of mind i needed and am happy to pay these costs. Every persons circunstances are different and only you and your partner can make this decsion.

I plan to put all the money received in the 'baby bonus' ($3000 or $4000 depending on when I fall pg) into my OB fee and tests/hospital excess. That way I am happy as I am getting the cover I want and don't have to budget as I will get the money back when baby is born. I couldn't care less about the private room in a hospital but want the Doctor of my choice thoughout my pg and delivery.
I have rang many OB's in Melbourne and they seem to range in price from about $2000-$4000 (out of pocket) but you can claim once over threshold as someone said above. Also, I will have any scans recommended by OB.

HTH.

I go Public & see my OB (who works in a GP) I pay approx $40 per visit & get about $35 back from Medicare, I do not pay for any blood tests at all & paid out of pocket around $40 for the 2 ultrasounds, I will have my OB when I deliver at the Public Hospital (William Angliss) if it is necessary with my daughter there were no complications & so he was consulted, I felt comfortable with the midwives & was happy with them delivering her!
He came about an hour after the birt to see us both & congratulate us!

The Hospital is all free too! I was in hospital for 3 full days, only one night was there a lady in the bed next to me, other than that I had it all to myself!

My first visit (at 12 weeks) is $130 plus $40 for a scan - from that I get about $80-90 back.

Every visit after that is $70 which I get about $27 back from Medicare.

Once I hit my threshold I will get 80% of those expenses back.

At 28 weeks I have a payment of $1000 which Medicare rebates $94 but I will passed my threshold by then so I will get about $900 back.

Then there is a charge for a postnatal visit which is $55 with a rebate of $30.95.

There is also additional charges if I want a private paediatrician and assistant (we will just use the public one if there is no problems) and also if I decide to have an epidural there is a charge for anaesthetist which I will be billed for separately. I didn't have en epi last time and don't really plan on having one this time (it's too expensive!!!).

I feel safer knowing who is going to deliver my baby and I like having a private room (I don't know why but I just hate the thought of sharing the bathroom with someone else when you feel horrible and you are bleeding everywhere or if you need to go in there for a while for your first #2 after the baby is born!!).

Jorja

wow, i had no idea it could cost so much. im assuming most of you are private?

i am public, and only pay for OB visits and USs. first OB visit was around $200, got about $90 back from medicare, then $175 for US (cant remember medicare rebate) and then either $70 for OB visit or $40 for GP visit (doing shared care).

i dont really mind which OB i have at delivery, not all that fussed on my OB anyway, and figure that the midwives will do most of the work.

as far as i know these are all the costs that i have to pay.

Linda

Well I'm going completely public thru a midwife practice at the hospital. We toured 2 private hospitals and actually liked the public one better, and the midwives are fantastic. They bring in doctors if there are complications, but all is good with me so I've only been seeing my midwife. All u/s, blood tests and visits are completely free and we cannot fault the level of care we are receiving. In fact, the antenatal program is more comprehensive than those offered at the private hospitals - there are more class topics, yoga, aqua classes, and physio appointments - ALL FREE.

I think if I had complications I'd consider seeing an ob, but really, the midwives train solely to help pregnant mums and deliver babies, so what more could you want?? I actually get quite annoyed when people look at me as though they think I'm not giving my baby the best start by not seeing an ob. It was our decision and with the money we are saving we can start an investment account for the babies future.