Maloui Posted July 12, 2009 Report Share Posted July 12, 2009 HI there,we are not planning on private health soon after arrival in Adelaide, but my wife need to get a C- section because of medical reasons. We can get a doctors letter with the reasons, will this be acceptable? There was a thread about 2 years ago, just thought we'll ask of recent experiences. Anything we should do before leaving regarding this issue? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dawidopp Posted July 12, 2009 Report Share Posted July 12, 2009 Hi,We arrived in October 2008 and I had my C-Section (elective) in November 2008. We didn't took any private medical cover. We are on a perminent visa and only used Medicare. The C-section and the hospital 'service' was excelent. They have a very good health system, it is a little diffrent from South Africa. If you have any more questions please write I will try and answer your questions.RegardsEwouda Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GottaGo Posted July 12, 2009 Report Share Posted July 12, 2009 Hi,Just bring all your medical records and head to the nearest public hospital when you arrive. If due to medical reasons you'll be able to have a csection in a public hosptial. I wanted an elective csection and was told I wouldn't be able to have one in a public hospital. Now I'd be interested to know how much Medicare paid towards the costs of the csection and how much was out of pocket? Anyway, we cancelled our Discovery Health cover only at the very last minute and headed to HBF private health fund offices as soon as we got here to sign up for medical cover. Because we had an exit letter from Discovery and it was within a few days of our stopping our cover with them, HBF recognised our Discovery cover and signed us up with no maternity exclusions (usually you are not covered for 9 months for maternity costs when signing up as a new customer with a health fund) which meant I was covered for all my maternity costs so I had my csection at a fabulous private hospital with an obstetrician I had booked with from CT before we left. (Private room, husband could stay in room, 5 nights in hospital...like a hotel...I WANT TO GO BACK!!)I would seriously recommend you take out private cover even if you do have your csection at a public hospital and are covered by medicare. Private cover will assist in costs with an specialist visits. You'd be amazed at the specialists you may end up seeing when you have a baby (paediatrician being one!). EG Physio (you may need this if you breastfeed), dermatologist (our little one had a bit of eczema), chiropractor, allergist....We were even covered by hbf for a medical emergency whilst on holiday in SA.Anyway, good luck for the big day and enjoy the ride!!Sally Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dawidopp Posted July 13, 2009 Report Share Posted July 13, 2009 Hi,Just bring all your medical records and head to the nearest public hospital when you arrive. If due to medical reasons you'll be able to have a csection in a public hosptial. I wanted an elective csection and was told I wouldn't be able to have one in a public hospital. Now I'd be interested to know how much Medicare paid towards the costs of the csection and how much was out of pocket? Anyway, we cancelled our Discovery Health cover only at the very last minute and headed to HBF private health fund offices as soon as we got here to sign up for medical cover. Because we had an exit letter from Discovery and it was within a few days of our stopping our cover with them, HBF recognised our Discovery cover and signed us up with no maternity exclusions (usually you are not covered for 9 months for maternity costs when signing up as a new customer with a health fund) which meant I was covered for all my maternity costs so I had my csection at a fabulous private hospital with an obstetrician I had booked with from CT before we left. (Private room, husband could stay in room, 5 nights in hospital...like a hotel...I WANT TO GO BACK!!)I would seriously recommend you take out private cover even if you do have your csection at a public hospital and are covered by medicare. Private cover will assist in costs with an specialist visits. You'd be amazed at the specialists you may end up seeing when you have a baby (paediatrician being one!). EG Physio (you may need this if you breastfeed), dermatologist (our little one had a bit of eczema), chiropractor, allergist....We were even covered by hbf for a medical emergency whilst on holiday in SA.Anyway, good luck for the big day and enjoy the ride!!SallyHi Sally,We didn't pay anything out of pocket. All the cost was covered by Medicare. The first night of my stay as a public patient I had my own room and the following night I had to share with another mother. As it was my second baby I decided to go home on day 3, as the midwifes come to our house for follow up and check ups of me and my baby for a week after leaving the hospital. In South Africa we were also on Discovery Health, and I can tell you that as a public patient I received better medical care in Australia than I received in South Africa as a private patient. Also it is truly sorry that people told you, you can't have a elective C section in a public hospital. They did ask me if I would like to go for a normal birth and I said no, I would like to go for a C-section, they made a apointment with a Gynae and I went for my elective C section without any querries. I just had to explain why I want to go the elective route to the midwifes as they didn't understand why one would like to go elective if you have normal as a option.Ewouda Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rozellem Posted July 13, 2009 Report Share Posted July 13, 2009 My sister in law in Sydney has just had her second child, the first was born in SA. They are on PR and she did not pay a cent towards anything related to the baby. She actually wanted a normal birth, but the doctors wanted to do a C-section. The baby was found to have small holes in his heart at the (free) 20 week scan. They saw a pediatric heart surgeon (free) within days, no waiting. He had a infection after the birth, again top notch treatment free. She had a few scares while pregnant and would go in to hospital immediately to have a scan and be checked over, all free. A week after the birth her husband, a keen gardener, was bitten by a tick. He went to A&E to be checked out and get meds. Aftewards a nurse was sent to their house for over a week, everyday, to change his drip, while he worked from home. Again all free. We are on PR too and I am having a baby here in Dec, and the free care so far have been wonderful. I even go for free mothers to be yoga at the hospital. The classes continue after the birth and you can bring the baby along. Bring all your medical records, show them to your GP when you register at one in your area and they will refer you. Dont worry about this, all will work out fine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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