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These are some of the cheapest health insurance policies that cover pregnancy from Finder partners.
Top Pick for
Gold Hospital
Top Pick for
Gold Hospital
Top Pick for
Gold Hospital
Childbirth services on the public system in Australia are paid for by the government via Medicare. If you want private care – either in a private or public hospital – you will have to pay for it yourself. But you can meet some of these costs through a combination of Medicare rebates and private health insurance. Anything that can't be claimed back on Medicare or on private health cover is known as an out-of-pocket cost.
If you choose to give birth as a public patient at a public hospital, the government pays. Medicare will also cover other expenses throughout your pregnancy. These include midwife appointments, routine ultrasounds, blood tests and immunisations. Plus, you can get up to 3 free counselling sessions if you need emotional support.
With private health insurance in place, you can opt to give birth in a private hospital. In most cases, this will include your own room. You can also choose your own obstetrician, who you'll visit for appointments during your pregnancy and they will deliver your baby. A private plan also has cover for assisted reproductive treatments, such as IVF.
Not everyone needs health insurance for pregnancy. It's important to weigh up your own circumstances before deciding if private health cover is the right choice for your needs. For more on this, read our page on private versus public childbirth.
Here are some private health policies from Finder partners that will cover you for pregnancy. All have a 12-month waiting period before you can claim.
"For me, the pros of going private included a longer hospital stay – I felt very supported by the nursing staff after giving birth – and continuity of care. I was able to have the same obstetrician throughout the whole pregnancy. But that came at a big cost: Going private cost at least $5K in out-of-pocket expenses for each pregnancy. That's not including the added cost of insurance that will cover pregnancy and birth services. I've heard many public hospitals offer continuity of care now, so if your local hospital has a good maternity wing, it might be worth saving the money and spending it on parental leave instead."
"I've no regrets about going public for my maternity care. I particularly liked the GP shared care that I did, rather than having to go to the hospital for all the midwife appointments. From my research, I'd learnt that if any serious complications occur with you or baby, you may well end up being transferred to a public hospital anyway. From a cost point of view, we only had to pay for antenatal classes and some medication. Everything else was free."
"We chose to go private for our first born. I appreciate that not everyone will be in the privileged position of being able to afford the high cost (we paid about $10K out-of-pocket), but for us it was worth it as the level of care overall was excellent. We stayed at the hospital until day 6 and there was no rush for us to leave. I felt a lot of support from the midwives, especially during days 3 and 4 which are obviously key days if you're breastfeeding. I really appreciated that my partner could stay by my side the whole week too. As well as having a private room with our own bathroom there were other nice touches, such as great food and it was easy to call for extra provisions at any time, day or night."
Even with a health insurance policy that covers pregnancy and birth services, there will still be additional expenses* that won't be covered by all health funds**. Here are the main types of out-of-pocket costs you'll need to consider:
| Service | Description | Approximate cost |
|---|---|---|
| Obstetrician's management fee | The end-to-end care you receive from a private obstetrician. This covers hospital fees like delivery expenses and the doctor's insurance. | $3,000-$5,000 |
| Ongoing appointments with your private obstetrician | This covers the regular appointments, including scans and check-ups, that you have with your obstetrician. | $100-150 per visit |
| Paediatrician | If you're a private patient, you have to pay for this specialist to come to the hospital for an appointment. | $150-$250 per visit |
| Private GP costs | The cost of going to a private doctor. In other words, an appointment that's not bulk-billed. | $50-$100 per visit |
| Lactation consultant | To get information and support around preparing for breastfeeding. | $150-$350 – costs vary between antenatal and postnatal. (Some health policies will pay benefits.) |
| Birthing classes | Privately-run antenatal or postnatal classes. | Costs vary a lot – anything from $100-$500. (Some health policies will pay benefits.) |
*You'll be able to claim for some of these costs via Medicare.
**Top policies may let you claim for some of the services listed above.
Keep in mind that your health premiums will be more expensive for at least a year. That's because you'll need to first hold a top-end cover – such as a Gold Hospital or Silver+ Hospital plan – and you need to finish your waiting period before you can start claiming. Lower-cost policies won't cover obstetrics appointments and will have more restricted benefits.
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