Pregnancy & health insurance: everything you need to know

Pregnancy health cover starts at around $61 per week. Comprehensive plans will be more expensive, particularly if you want extras like birthing classes and physio visits.

Key takeaways

  • The average cost of hospital cover for childbirth is around $52 per week*.
  • You will need to hold cover for at least 12 months before your hospital admission date.
  • If you are already pregnant without private hospital cover, getting it today will not do you much good.
*Prices are based on a single person earning less than $97,000 living in Sydney.

Compare hospital cover for pregnancy and child birth

Here are some pregnancy health insurance policies from Finder partners that cover pregnancy. All have a 12-month waiting period before you can claim. Prices are based on a single individual with less than $97,000 income and living in Sydney.

1 - 10 of 94
Name Product AUFHI-NEW Treatments Price Apply
Medibank Gold Protect
Gold$750 excess
Medibank Private Limited logo
  • Cataracts
  • Joint replacements
  • Palliative care
  • Pregnancy and birth
  • Sleep studies
  • Weight loss surgery
  • Rehabilitation
  • Insulin pumps
  • +30 other treatments covered
$242.50
per month
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All treatments
Frank Gold Hospital
Gold$750 excess
Frank Health Insurance logo
  • Cataracts
  • Joint replacements
  • Palliative care
  • Pregnancy and birth
  • Sleep studies
  • Weight loss surgery
  • Rehabilitation
  • Insulin pumps
  • +30 other treatments covered
$247.02
per month
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All treatments
GMHBA Limited logo
  • Cataracts
  • Joint replacements
  • Palliative care
  • Pregnancy and birth
  • Sleep studies
  • Weight loss surgery
  • Rehabilitation
  • Insulin pumps
  • +30 other treatments covered
$249.55
per month
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All treatments
Medibank Gold Protect
Gold$500 excess
Medibank Private Limited logo
  • Cataracts
  • Joint replacements
  • Palliative care
  • Pregnancy and birth
  • Sleep studies
  • Weight loss surgery
  • Rehabilitation
  • Insulin pumps
  • +30 other treatments covered
$260.74
per month
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All treatments
Qantas Insurance logo
  • Cataracts
  • Joint replacements
  • Palliative care
  • Pregnancy and birth
  • Sleep studies
  • Weight loss surgery
  • Rehabilitation
  • Insulin pumps
  • +30 other treatments covered
$265.23
per month
All treatments
Medibank Private Limited logo
Hospital
  • Cataracts
  • Joint replacements
  • Palliative care
  • Pregnancy and birth
  • +34 other treatments covered
Extras
  • General dental
  • Major dental
  • Optical
  • Hearing aids
  • +4 other treatments covered
Join and maintain eligible Medibank hospital and extras cover and you could earn Live Better points to redeem on rewards like an Apple Watch. New members only. T&Cs apply. Excludes Basic covers. Ends 18 December 2024.
$266.77
per month
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All treatments
Medibank Private Limited logo
Hospital
  • Cataracts
  • Joint replacements
  • Palliative care
  • Pregnancy and birth
  • +34 other treatments covered
Extras
  • General dental
  • Major dental
  • Optical
  • Hearing aids
  • +7 other treatments covered
Join and maintain eligible Medibank hospital and extras cover and you could earn Live Better points to redeem on rewards like an Apple Watch. New members only. T&Cs apply. Excludes Basic covers. Ends 18 December 2024.
$270.32
per month
Go to Site
All treatments
GMHBA Limited logo
Hospital
  • Cataracts
  • Joint replacements
  • Palliative care
  • Pregnancy and birth
  • +34 other treatments covered
Extras
  • General dental
  • Major dental
  • Optical
  • Hearing aids
  • +2 other treatments covered
$271.86
per month
Go to Site
All treatments
HBF Health Limited logo
  • Cataracts
  • Joint replacements
  • Palliative care
  • Pregnancy and birth
  • Sleep studies
  • Weight loss surgery
  • Rehabilitation
  • Insulin pumps
  • +30 other treatments covered
$272.77
per month
Go to Site
All treatments
advanced hospital gold
Gold$750 excess
ahm health insurance logo
  • Cataracts
  • Joint replacements
  • Palliative care
  • Pregnancy and birth
  • Sleep studies
  • Weight loss surgery
  • Rehabilitation
  • Insulin pumps
  • +30 other treatments covered
$273.97
per month
Go to Site
All treatments
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Our pick for best health insurance for pregnancy

Medibank Gold Protect + Growing Family 70

From

$78.49

/week

Hospital and Extras

From

$78.49

/week

Our verdict

This comes with lots of benefits you don't get with other insurers. In addition to pregnancy cover, continuity of care and IVF cover, you get access to its 24/7 Medibank Nurse service, an OptimalMe program for mums-to-be and a pregnancy health concierge. The Growing Family Extras cover includes antenatal and postnatal classes.

Pros

  • Extremely comprehensive pregnancy cover.
  • The extras option includes antenatal and postnatal classes, pregnancy compression garments and an Australian Breastfeeding Association membership.
  • It's efficient. Medibank has the lowest management expenses of all open health funds.

Cons

  • You may still have out-of-pocket expenses.
  • Only 83.80% of Medibank medical services have no gap (e.g. out-of-pocket expenses). Many including Bupa, HBF, NIB and Westfund are above 90%.
  • It's not the only good value option. Finder 2024 Gold Award winners included St. Lukes, HBF and Health Partners.

Why compare health insurance with Finder?

  • We don't ask for your phone or email to see prices.

  • With 1 click, you can open your results to nearly every fund in Australia.

  • You pay the same price as going direct – we charge no fees.

How much does health insurance for child birth cost?

To be covered for child birth in a private hospital, you'll need a Gold tier hospital policy, or a Silver Plus policy that happens to include it. These are the highest hospital tiers, and you'll need to have the policy for at least 12 months to cover the waiting period.

  • The cheapest hospital cover for child birth currently costs around $61 per week.
  • The average hospital cover for child birth currently costs around $82 per week.

These numbers are updated based on Finder's current health insurance database, which is pulled from the Commonwealth Ombudsman each month. The prices are based on a single person earning less than $97,000 living in Sydney.

Case studies

Who pays for childbirth in Australia?

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.

Public system

Medicare

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.

Private health

Private health

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 who will deliver your baby. A private plan also has cover for assisted reproductive treatments, such as IVF.

Family
Did you know?
According to Finder's Parenting Report 2023, the top 3 reasons for going private were: better quality of treatment/care (16%), being able to choose an obstetrician (15%) and having a private room (15%). Our survey questioned 1,033 Aussie parents with children aged under 12. Respondents were a mixture of both public and private sector patients.

Do I need private health insurance for pregnancy?

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 guide on private versus public childbirth.

Pros

  • You can choose your obstetrician and get peace of mind that comes with continuity of care from them before, during and after your pregnancy.
  • Top-end policies offer a wide range of cover benefits such as first-aid classes and physiotherapy.
  • You can avoid some eye-wateringly high costs of private treatments if you have the right insurance in place – especially if you shop around for the best pregnancy health insurance for you.

Cons

  • You have to pay more for your health insurance premium for at least 12 months before you give birth.
  • Even with health insurance, private care can still set you back thousands of dollars in out-of-pocket costs.
  • You also need to factor into your budgeting your policy's excess, which can range from $250-$1,500. This usually needs to be paid when you're discharged from a private hospital.

Mother holding a young baby who is asleep.

What costs aren't fully covered by private health insurance?

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:

  • Out-of-hospital medical services. Services including private GP visits, blood tests, ultrasounds, specialist consultations and obstetrician check-ups tend to not be covered. Aside from antenatal classes, most of these services can be partially claimed back on Medicare.
  • The gap. The gap refers to the difference between the Medicare Benefits Schedule (MBS) fee and what your health fund will pay for medical services. Usually this gap must be paid by you, but some private health policies can cover it.
  • Policy excesses and co-payments for hospital admissions. Excesses and co-pays are expenses that must be paid by you. These amounts mostly depend on factors such as if your baby requires additional postnatal care. Costs also vary from policy to policy.
  • Your baby's pre-release check-up. A paediatrician will come to the hospital and check on your baby. Check-ups – including any follow-up appointments – are usually not covered, but can be partially claimed back through Medicare.

Typical out-of-pocket costs

ServiceDescriptionApproximate cost
In-hospital excessYou must pay this one-off fee on your admission to, or before you leave, the hospital when you give birth.$500/$750
Obstetrician's management feeThe end-to-end care you receive from a private obstetrician. This covers hospital fees like delivery expenses and the doctor's insurance.$2,500-$5,000
Ongoing appointments with your private obstetricianThis covers the regular appointments, including scans and check-ups, that you have with your obstetrician.$100-150 per visit
PaediatricianIf 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 costsThe cost of going to a private doctor. In other words, an appointment that's not bulk-billed.$50-$100 per visit
Lactation consultantTo get information and support around preparing for breastfeeding.$150-$350 – costs vary between antenatal and postnatal. (Some health policies will pay benefits.)
Birthing classesPrivately-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.

How much does health insurance cost?

We ask hundreds of Australians what they're paying for health insurance every month. Here's what their bill looked like in November 2024.
  • Extras only: $56
  • Basic: $105
  • Bronze: $141
  • Silver: $193
  • Gold: $223
Price based on 470+ responses for single hospital or extras insurance.

Frequently Asked Questions:

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To make sure you get accurate and helpful information, this guide has been edited by Angus Kidman as part of our fact-checking process.
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