 Childbirth costs at a private hospital can break one’s budget, especially if there are complications like
a premature delivery. Apart from the costs of the gynaecologist, paediatrician and hospital charges,
your baby may need after care like in a neonatal ICU and this can further strain your budget. If you
do not have the funds upfront for a delivery at a private hospital, your options are limited – it’s
either a government facility or your family doctor and a midwife delivering the baby at home.
Without medical aid cover, you will need to pay an upfront fee which can be about R18 700 at some
private hospitals. You will then be required to settle the remaining amount once you are discharged.
While some private hospitals may be lenient and allow you between 60 to 90 days to settle your bill,
most will take legal action if you are unable to pay almost immediately.
Andrew Edwards, Executive Principal Officer at Liberty Medical Scheme says, “Medical aid cover
removes this uncertainty and apart from covering you for all the necessary costs, your baby is
automatically covered within the first 30 days of life even though you have not added him or her
onto your medical aid cover. This benefit is true for only those mothers who register their baby
within the first 30 days after birth”.
However, before joining a medical aid or when evaluating your existing one, you need to ask as
many questions as possible such as:
- What options does the scheme have with regards to hospital plans?
- How many scans does the plan pay for?
- Does the plan cover antenatal classes?
- Exclusions and limitations? Mothers-to-be need to take into account that most
gynaecologists charge above the Scheme rate and they therefore need to investigate what
these rates are. Even mid-wife delivery at home may have out-of-pocket expenses that the
medical aid may not cover.
- How does a high risk pregnancy affect your medical aid benefits?
- Does it provide you with support in terms of counselling services, 24 hour advice service or a
website educating you about you, your baby and your medical aid?
Asking the right questions and conducting research on your potential medical aid allows you to cater
for those additional costs in your budget that your medical aid does not cover. In this way, you will
have peace of mind knowing that your medical bill will not land you in debt.
Edwards says that Liberty Medical Scheme understands how critical it is for mothers to be
empowered about their medical needs hence their commitment to continue delivering products
like Liberty Baby and services like access to information through platforms such as The Baby Expo
celebrating MamaMagic.
For those moms that would like to engage with Liberty on their offerings for moms-to-be, please
join them at The Baby Expo in Cape Town 29-31 October at the CTICC and will be back in Joburg in
November for a summer show 25-28 November at the Coca-Cola Dome. |
