Medibank Private at the NorthWest Brisbane

[Dortygirl]

Hi Everyone,

Being a first time mum I am totally at a loss of what to expect so I was wondering if anyone can help me out, as I am tossing up the costs of having my baby private or public (DH got made redundant 2 months ago and money is now a bit tighter). I have Medibank Private Advantage Plus cover and I am seeing Terance Sheahan at the NorthWest.

So far from what I can work out I will be out of pocket for:

Obstetric Fees
Initial Consult: $140 (rebate $67.20)
Follow up consults: $70 (rebate $33.65)
20 Week Management Fee: $1700 (rebate about $700)
Under Medibank Private there is no gaps on the delivery.

Scans
Dating scan at 5 weeks: $300 (rebate $50 !!!)
12 Week scan: Not sure yet

Shared Care - GP visits
I was going to do shared care with my doctor but he is charging $100 per visit so I think that going with the OBGYN for all appointments is cheaper.

I will be having an elective CS so I think I still have to pay for the anaesthetist and paediatrician separately too. Is this correct and how many visits can I expect from the paediatrician ??

What I would like to know is apart from the obstetric fee's and the $200 hospital excess with Medibank Private; can anyone tell me what else I am likely to be out of pocket for as well or give me an estimate of what other charges I can expect? I am totally confused and need to budget in advance to weigh up my options. Baby will be born in December so all costs will be in this financial year and I have applied for the Medicare Threshold.

Please help :(

[Rach08]

Hey

A few extra costs that you might need to consider:

Blood tests- for Transnuchal screening at 10-12 weeks and Gestational Diabetes at about 28 weeks. You will get some back from medicare.

18-20 week scan. Depends where you go- mine cost about $290- I think I got about $150 back.


I haven't been to Northwest but I had an elective CS at sunnybank last year. My anaesthetist bill was $1000. Medicare and Medibank paid about $750 and I paid the rest- not sure of the break down as I was only sent the bill for the difference.

The paediatrician attended the birth and came to see us about 4 times in hospital. I think it was about $100 per visit. ( again you can claim some back from medicare).

It might be an idea to check with Medibank what their policy is for adding baby onto your cover once they are born- just incase they need special care nursery etc. I have slightly different cover to you so am not sure.

Keep in mind that once you hit the medicare threshold ( which you will probably do at 20 weeks with the management fee) out of pocket costs drop dramatically.

R

[gotmilk]

Hi
Anaesthetic service was $664.10 and I paid $260.00. Medibank private paid the rest - $404.10
All blood tests were bulk billed.
Paediatrician initial consult at the hospital was $280 and the following $150 and I got 80% back from Medicare.
It was natural.
Hope it helps.

[Dortygirl]

This is great. I just had no idea what those two items would cost and to get a rough estimation helps me to plan and set a budget. I just don't want to find that I'm more than $1000 off my estimated figure. At this stage from what I can work out with private health it is going to cost me over $2000 out of pocket. Thanks for the info; it has really helped me out. :)

[gotmilk]

Not a prob, glad it helps:)
but I have to say that my OB had an ultrasound in his office so I had only 1 ultrasound done at the hospital (bub's heart check), however I believe it can easily cost around $260 and also my friend had anesthesiologist's services done at night time and it was more expensive, I was induced so my doctors planned it for a day time:)

[ALHmum]

Hi dortygirl I have just been with Terry in Feb. Seems he's put his prices up this year :(. I thought i heard he was.
I take it that you haven't seen him yet EDD Dec???
Well he sent me to have all my scans in Bris to some special baby scanplace in Spring Hill. Apparently they do have quite large out of pocket expenses. When i went back to medicare to claim they made a mention of it. But if you have a problem - hope you don't - they do all the counselling then and there. Yes we had probs. But luckily ok. (In the event that you need an amnio done it cost $465.) Had the 12 week scan - $294 - and 19 week $253 -there. Can't remember out of pocket sorry. That's all the scans Terry does. If there's a prob he'll send you for more obviously.
My bloods that i had were all bulk billed. Does them through QML.
He does have a little ultrasound machine in his office for baby heart checks and position checks each appt but it doesn't print out anything and didn't cost extra.
If you have no reason to so Terry at each visit i.e you are healthy and have no other health problems that might affect your pregnancy then you alternate visits with his lovely midwife Jenny. She charges $15 which you can't claim back but works out cheaper in the long run anyway. They give you your full appt schedule at the first visit so it's easy to sort of. If you have any probs or questions you can just ring Jenny and she's talk to you over the phone.
Antenatal classes at NWP cost $150 but Jenny can do them for you but I'm not sure how much she charges.
My anaesthetic bill was $530. That was the out of pocket charge as the Dr had done the rest thru medicare for me. I had an emergency C-section so I'm not sure if he uses a regular aneasthetist who charges differently.
Paediatrician was Dr Anne Kynaston who apparently he uses all the time. Bub is not covered for her charges and you will nicely get a bill when you see her at the bubs ?8 week appt. They don't tell you that one! I was charged $1600 but that was for 2.5weeks. (We were in special care). But I think of that I was only out of pocket $300 - each daily visit cost I think $67. You'll have the Theatre fee of about $250 for delivery.
Hope all this makes sense for you.
Just remember when you see Terry have your hearing turned ON as he does tend to mumble a bit but I found him to be very good. And when you need help he's there for you.
Good luck:flowerz:

[com com]

I worked for one of the Obstetrician's at NorthWest and was lucky to work with Terry's midwife Jenny for a year or so. It seems like you have received quite a lot of information in the other posts. As a medical secretary I would like to mention that you need to be covered with Medibank for at least 12 months on pregnancy cover before baby is due. This means you need to have had the cover before you fell pregnant.

When you are discharged from NorthWest, they tend to push you to attend the Baby Clinic. This is additional costs that are not covered by Medicare and honestly, you can get the same assistance from a midwife at your local chemist (Baby Clinics) or your GP if you have a good relationship with him/her. This clinic is set up to help you with breastfeeding issues and baby weighing etc.

keep in mind all services outside business hours at the hospital can cost you extra. You do not have to see the Paediatrician at 6 weeks - GP is fine or if you can, shop around for Paediatrician prices at NorthWest because you don't have to see the same one who attended the birth and if you have a caesarean you normally get to choose which Paediatrician to attend the birth. Hope this helps.

[ALHmum]

When you are discharged from NorthWest, they tend to push you to attend the Baby Clinic. This is additional costs that are not covered by Medicare and honestly, you can get the same assistance from a midwife at your local chemist (Baby Clinics) or your GP if you have a good relationship with him/her. This clinic is set up to help you with breastfeeding issues and baby weighing etc.
:iagree:
I went to the baby clinic and really ... I should have stuck with the Qld health clinic just down the road instead of driving 30mins to go there. And then my GP did the same thing too and said I should have just came to see her. Oh well the things you learn.
Also the Well Baby clinic costs $40 for 4 visits then they tried to get me to come for another 4 visits for $40. All they did was weigh, length and head circ then asked me how i was going then that was it.

[ice]

Hi all, I have a basic medibank cover which basically won't cover for private hospital. I m in 14 weeks of my first pregnancy. When I enquired about the fees it is nearly $6000 for private hospital plus Ob and other specialists' fees. I am scared to go public since this is my first pregnancy. Could anyone explain to me what it means by private patient at public hospital and what is the difference between that and private patient at private hospy? How much do I need to pay as private patient at public hospital? Is there any Ob who delivers babies there? Thanks so much.

[ALHmum]

I can't help you too much with this but i highly recommend you to make a decision quickily cos its hard to find an ob. I was ringing around when i was 6 weeks and it took me 5 obs til i got one.

Good luck

[james c]

Could anyone explain to me what it means by private patient at public hospital and what is the difference between that and private patient at private hospy? How much do I need to pay as private patient at public hospital? Is there any Ob who delivers babies there? Thanks so much.

Hi Ice, I work for Medibank so can help you with this.

A private patient at a public hospital basically means you can have your own choice of doctor, but your the delivery will occur in a public hospital. Ordinarily, a birth at a public hospital will have a the obstetrician on duty assigned to it, but if you would prefer to have your own obstetrician manage the whole birth including the delivery then going as a private patient in a public hospital is a way to do that.

A private patient in a private hospital would have their choice of doctor, and the delivery would occur at a private hospital. If the private health cover you have chosen restricts obstetrics services, as some budget covers do, then there will be an out of pocket cost to you, as you have been advised.

If you decide to go as a private patient in a public hospital I recommend you choose which public hospital you wish to use and contact them. Often public hospitals waive the excess for private patients, so ask if they do this. They can also provide you with a list of obstetricians that use that hospital, who you can contact and arrange to manage your pregnancy and the birth for you.

Your Medibank Private insurance will cover the costs of the public hospital including accommodation, theatre fees etc, and contribute towards the cost of your doctors fees for the services they deliver when you are admitted to hospital. However doctors set their own fees so always ask if they are going to charge more then the Medicare/Medibank benefit and get this information in writing. This advice applies to any doctor for any hospital procedure.

Hope this helps.

[ice]

Thank you so much for the reply. That really helps alot. :) I will try to contact the hospital & Obs asap. Thanks.