Private Health Cover

Hi all, Im a 1st time mum to be and am expecting to have my baby in a country hospital. Just wondering what advantages Private Health Cover would give me. So far all I've found is that you get a bottle of bubbly and a separate room with own shower and toilet in this hospital but I havent heard of any other real advantages. There is only one obstertrician in this town so its not like I get much of a choice there either. Please help as my EDD is getting nearer and I need to make a decision soon. Thanks smile

Hi Cherie,
I also looked into private health cover when I was pregnant. I found out that you still have your excess to pay plus sometimes other monies eg if you have a c-section and need an anethesiast where as in public hospitals its usually free. Also if you don't have cover already they claim pregnancies as pre-existing and won't cover you anyway. Most hospitals have midwives deliver your baby unless you specifally ask and pay or your pregancy is high risk, and in my experience midwives are more gentle & caring then obgyns, & sometimes the drs don't make it to the birth in time anyway.
I hope this helps you and good luck

Hi CherieJade,

I've actually got private health cover but haven't ended up using it at all for the pregnancy as I decided to go public so I could get shared care between midwife and my own GP.

The only things you really get are the private room, everything else you still have to pay for yourself (like Obs appointments) and it can end up costing you thousands, for instance a friend of mine just had a baby private and it would cost them $200 a session or more with the Obs, whereas if you go public its more like $40! Plus if you're private and you need help (ie forceps delivery) you have to wait for your own Obs to turn up, rather than just having the Obs that is on duty. A friend of mine ended up waiting 3 hours for her private Obs to turn up!

From my experience you have to have paid for health cover for 12 months before you are entitled to anything for maternity purposes anyway, so if you haven't got cover already it will be too late for you if your EDD is coming up!

Hope this helps

Cath