pregnancy private vs public and insurane

hi everyone, my gf and i just found out we are having a baby.. she is about 3+weeks pregnant. she is not covered by her medical program and neither by mine.. just wondering if anyone had any ideas on


1. is it worthwhile to go public for the test and delivery?

2. is there any insurance available to cover this?

3. what are we looking at if we went private?


i know this has been asked before and i have been through some of the threads, any help is much appreciated



v

Dear V,


Contratulations on the baby, it must seem like very early days to be thinking of hospitals.


I believe most insurance schemes for maternity care require you to take out a policy around a year before the deliver, so dont think that may help.


Please feel free to visit the hospital website http://www.matilda.org where you can get full information on the services and the costs to help you in your planning. The maternity unit does get booked up very early and we take bookings from 9 weeks through your doctor.


The public hospitals do provide good care however the environment is different and you may not be able to choose your doctor. The best way to get a good idea is to arrange a look around at a few places.


I hope that all goes smoothly.


Lynne - 2849 0328

Matilda International Hospital

Hong Kong

http://www.matilda.org

Congratulations - life's about to change!

I've had two kids in Hong Kong - didn't have insurance for maternity so went public route both times. Total cost of each child is less than $1000 if you do go public (that includes any test fees along the way) so it's cheap, have been perfectly satisfied with the level of care during birth etc.


Yes the bedside manner and food definitely leave something to be desired but at the end of the day the medical care is excellent through the public route. What is tedious is all the visits before birth that you can guarantee will take half a day each.


A lot of people who go public for birth will choose to go private for their antenatal tests and visits and fund it through their own pocket if they don't have insurance. Not all doctors like you to do this - the one I consulted when I found out I was pregnant made it quite plain and clear he had no interest in doing the tests and checks if I was going to the public hospital for the birth, but I know others are okay with this. Think the costs are around $800-1000 for each check up privately no scan and $1600-2000 with scan included, others who have had more experience on going through the private route can probably advise more accurately on this thoug.


Good luck!

thanks Sarah99


life has indeed already changed..


which hospital did you use? we were thinking of using Queen Mary

thanks Sarah99


life has indeed already changed..


which hospital did you use? we were thinking of using Queen Mary

agree 100% with sarah99. we used public by choice even though were covered by insurance. also used private check-ups monthly. costs similar to what she described. Queen Mary for all of my children.