Obstetric Fees (Antenatal Care and Birth)
Having your pregnancy care with a private Obstetrician incurs some out of pocket costs, Dr O’Neill’s staff will ensure you are fully aware of Dr O’Neill’s fees prior to your first appointment. Fee information will be sent to you upon booking for pregnancy care, however if you wish to know any information before receiving this please ask the friendly staff.
The first thing to do is make sure you are covered for maternity services with your health fund. Most people do not realise there is a waiting period of at least one year before your health fund will cover you. Other considerations include:
Does my health fund cover my appointments with Dr O’Neill?
Appointments in the office are not covered by health funds and are partially covered by Medicare. Medicare has a scheduled fee towards each of your first appointment, subsequent appointments, pregnancy management, birth and postnatal care. You will receive detailed information as to the applicable rebates, prior to your first appointment.
What about the Planning & Management Fee?
This fee is charged by all Obstetricians. Medicare defines it as a fee for planning and managing a pregnancy, with a private Obstetrician.
It reimburses the Obstetrician for providing 24/7 cover (by Dr O’Neill or by a specialist colleague in her absence), and recognises the implications of on-call obstetric practice being unpredictable. It also helps cover escalating costs in medical practice (particularly insurance/indemnity).
I have also heard about the Medicare Safety Net?
The Medicare Safety Net is an initiative which allows you to claim some of your out of pocket expenses after you have met a particular threshold of expenses. You are automatically registered for the Safety Net as an individual, however, if you register as a family you and your partner, and children, can get the benefits of the Safety Net. If you would like some more information regarding the Medicare Safety Net please visit the Medicare website.
Is Dr O’Neill with my health fund?
- Dr O’Neill has an agreement with all major Australian health funds, excluding Latrobe. This means the fee for your in-hospital care will be sent to your health fund on your behalf with no out of pocket cost (“gap”) to yourself.
- We are unable to offer services to patients who do not have private health insurance.
Please be aware some health fund policies do not cover admission of babies to Neonatal Intensive Care for cardiac or respiratory care. It may not be known until your baby is delivered whether this will be necessary. ALL expecting parents should check with their health fund to make sure you have no unexpected costs at this difficult time.
What is a ‘gap’ payment?
A ‘gap’ is any out of pocket expense incurred by a patient for their medical treatment during their stay in hospital. It reflects the difference between the total fee charged by the doctor and any health fund benefit, plus Medicare rebate. You will not have a gap to pay for Dr O’Neills care in hospital unless your health fund does not have an arrangement with Dr O’Neill (please see section above).
Will there be other costs to consider for my pregnancy care and delivery?
There will be other costs related to blood tests, specialist ultrasounds, anaesthetists, paediatricians and the hospital.
There are two types of costs associated with private treatment while you are an inpatient – hospital costs and medical cost.
- Hospital Costs are for charges like your bed, meal and theatre. If you would like to know the hospital fees prior to admission please call the hospital on 9382 6883.
- Medical Costs are charges from specialists, such as Obstetricians, Paediatricians and Anaesthetists. Individual paediatricians and anaesthetists will have varying fees, therefore unfortunately the cost may not known until the day.