The American Society of Sydney: Re: Health Insurance - Medibank

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Re: Health Insurance - Medibank - Possible Baby?

Posted by Christine on 12/9/2008, 1:08 pm, in reply to "Re: Health Insurance - Medibank - Possible Baby?"
58.106.12.131

Hi,

I have MBF which is hospital plus extras. You have to have a minimum of Standard Hospital on this plan to cover pregnancy. It is also a year of coverage before they will cover expenses and is also roughly $180 a month for a family of 4. The way it works is this.

1) You get to choose a private OB/GYN with private coverage. You can choose to use a private OB/GYN without coverage but very expensive. You then will get a chance to go to private clinics for the tests etc rather than through the public system.

2) If you choose to go public (medicare) the care is just as good, but you have to usually visit a hospital rather than a private clinic for your checkups by a midwife and when its time to give birth you are tended to by the midwife and any OB/GYN which is on call that night, you may not meet the OB/GYN or the Anesthetist until you check in and are about to give birth.

Australia is very fortunate to not discriminate if you do not have private health cover. Just because you have private health cover, you can still choose a private OB/GYN but go to a public hospital if that hospital is part of his rounds.

I had one child in NY and one in Sydney, Prince of Wales Private Hospital in Randwick. I had a fantastic OB/GYN and one of only a few I believe in Sydney that don't want payment up front, you can pay as you go. If I did it again, I would consider the Royal Womens Hospital at Randwick under private OB/GYN care.
Even Nicole Kidmans sister, who we know can afford any hospital, gave birth in this public hospital under private OB/GYN care.

Expenses
-----------
You end up paying about $900.00 out of pocket under private health insurance to the Anesthetist after all your claims are lodged.
You may also have a small excess payment depending on what cover you may choose, ie if you choose a $500 hospital excess, you will pay that to the hospital under private health insurance.
You may also have an gap payment to the OB/GYN depending on his fee structure.

Ask all questions prior to seeing any OB/GYN, but most importantly, get your insurance soon if you are going down the private road. If you leave it too late and your baby comes early you may not be covered, so best to get it sooner rather than later.

You can email me at christymac01@yahoo.com or in the future call me to have me explain in more detail, it's hard to write it all without going on and on, there is a lot to know.

Regards
Christine

--Previous Message--
: I'm currently pregnant w/ Medicare plus HBA no
: excess, Hospital Saver Plus and an extras
: cover.
: The core HBA for family (me plus baby) is
: $149.65/mo. I have the extras cover since it
: is a good deal for the prenatal yoga classes
: run by physiotherapists. (manages the
: inevitable lower back pain)
:
: I ended up w/ HBA and no excess because I
: was converting over from Overseas Visitor's
: insurance plan which only comes as no
: excess.
:
: Regardless of the provider you choose, be
: sure to look at the waiting periods for
: pregnancy. HBA has a 12 mos. waiting period;
: however, mine was waived since I proved
: continuous coverage of maternity benefits
: from the US. And thank heaven I did get the
: waiver. We got pregnant faster than
: expected.
:
: pj
:
: --Previous Message--
: I have been told most people get health
: insurance in addition to medicare (which we
: have because our our type of visa). We are a
: healthy family of 4 with the possibly of
: adding another child maybe 2 years from now.
: Basically are you paying to be able to pick
: your own doctors and see them when you want
: to see them instead of being put on a wait
: list? Can anyone tell me what insurance they
: had when they delivered a baby, etc and what
: kind of out of pocket expenses they incurred
: with it? I've been looking at Medibank
: intermediate vs private then they have other
: "smart" choices... it all seems a
: bit complicated. I want to know what has
: worked for other people. Any suggestions?
:
:
: