There are so many things to think about when planning for a child, from child proofing your home, making sure you have read all the relevant literature to buying all the essential clothes and paraphernalia. But the most important thing to think about when preparing for a baby is you and your child’s health. Health insurance should never be treated as an afterthought so to help navigate you through the world of private cover, here are some pointers:
Reasons for Private Cover
There are many reasons to go for private cover, these include:
- For birth and after care services, private health care is actually the most affordable option, especially if there are complications
- You have the power to choose your obstetrician
- Private hospitals have much lower rates of newborn resuscitation or admission to intensive care
- The ratios of neonatal death rates are as follows: public hospitals – 3:1000 and 1:1000 –private hospitals
- The rate of severe perinea tearing is much lower in private hospitals
Waiting Periods
Many health insurance policies have waiting periods, this means your health may not be covered for some time after you have started paying your premiums. With this in mind, it is important to take out insurance the moment you start planning on having children.
If you and/or your partner already have health insurance, now would also be the best time to get in touch with your policy provider and ensure you are covered for all pregnancy and birth related services as well as enquiring about adding your newborn to the family policy.
Getting the Right Cover
All private health funds should cover the following basic needs:
- Doctors’ and obstetricians’ fees
- Hospital accommodation
- Labour ward costs
Some additions to the basic points you may want to consider are:
- Pre-natal class fees
- Ultra-sound costs
- Post-natal check-up fees for you and your baby
The additional points will most likely come with an additional charge. To get the best deal always make sure you compare private health insurance. You should also make sure there is no gap in the cost of your treatment. This could mean making a co-payment and paying an excess for treatments that are supposedly covered under your policy. Some insurers may seem a little cagey about information on co-payments or excess so make sure you check with an online health insurance advice centre like Choosi, for accurate information.
9 Comments
these article was really helpful for those who are looking for the best medical insurance to cover pregnancy and birthing. Also, make sure the insurance also covered the emergencies and C section birthing which sometimes can be more expensive on their part.
It’s very important to have a health insurance especially if you are pregnant or have kids.
Medical expenses cost a lot of money so an insurance is a must . Imagine how much you pay during labor.
i cannot imagine, really. i had an emergency C-section when I gave birth + if not for Philhealth + SSS, it would’ve burn a whole in my pocket to pay for the medical expenses!
it’s a no brainer decision. It is indeed mandatory to have health insurance if we are planning to have a baby because the cost of it can be crazy. I remember before when i first got here in America, 3 months later i got pregnant and i don’t have health insurance yet at the time when i had miscarriage we ended up paying $3k just for that, how much more delivering a full-term baby?
how sad to have paid $3k + losing your baby at the same time. i agree, a health insurance is really a must these days, more so in the States!
Our health insurance helped us big time when I had my pregnancy till now. Here in the US, it is a must to have one. If we didn’t have one, until now I will be indebted to the hospital that served me well.
We can live life with more confidence if we are suitably protected from different risks.
i totally agree with you, that is why investing on our future is really a must on my book