Choices - where to go?

P

Panda2010

Registered User
Hi All

I have just found out that im 6 weeks pregnant so early stages. But I have also just found out that we have low insurance coverage. We only have HK$40,000 in total. So I cant really go for an obstetrician and a private hospital. What would you do??

Can anyone recommend a good but reasonably priced doctor?

Has anyone delivered in a public hospital or should I avoid that at all costs?

I was thinking of trying to split the coverage 50/50 with obs fees and hospital fees. Is that realistic?

Thanks for all your advice - im currently in panic mode and have images of delivering on the side of the road!!
 
Congratulations! Have a read through this article, it should answer most of your questions.

http://www.geobaby.com/articles/pregnancy/pregnancy-in-hong-kong/

You have 2 options.

You maybe able to deliver in a Private hospital, you just need to select a shared room or what they call a ward. They're normally shared among 4 or more people.
Have a look at the rates here:
Private Hospital Maternity Packages

This doesn't include Drs fees, so you need to negotiate with yr Dr. Their fees are based on the type of room you select. Also factor in the cost for an epidural, anesthesiologist and pediatrician.

Second option is go half/half, which is discussed in the article.

Good luck!
 
As a guide to costs in the private world, I just delivered my second baby 2 weeks ago. I would say that the private obstetrician visits throughout my pregnancy were about $25K. My delivery for a twin room at Matilda - 3 days natural delivery with epidural was $90K. You may be able to go to a private doctor for half of your obs visits throughout your pregnancy and go public for the rest and may still have enough left to pay for a 4 person room in a private hospital for the delivery but I think that this would be unlikely. Your best bet may be to go private for all obs visits and then deliver at a public hospital. Of the $90K for my delivery bill, $38K was my obs fee, $10K for the epidural and $32K for the hospital charges. Pediatrician fees were on top of that (but they also should come out of the baby's insurance on the assumption that they will be covered under your insurance from birth).

What you also need to bear in mind is if there are complications eg: an emergency c-section as this will push your bill up substantially. A friend had a $250K bill for her c-section delivery plus complications at a private hospital. Having said this, it might be worth checking your insurance as some policies will include any "complications from childbirth" as part of the general surgical allowance and therefore won't be limited to the $40K of your maternity cover.

If you decide to go private for your obs visits and then public for the delivery you will also need to check that your preferred obstetrician will take you on when you are delivering at public. My doctor recently charged her policy so that they will not take on patients who are delivering at public hospitals. Others still do.

Good luck. By all accounts the public hospitals are well staffed and have expertise although they do not have the luxuries of the private hospitals (but have a price tag to match).

SB2
 
MANY of us have given birth in public hospitals, some of us more than once. (i did it twice.)

although not luxurious by any stretch of the imagination, the medical care is second to none.

i was hospitalised 13 times over two very complicated pregnancies. total amount of time in the hospital: roughly 2.5-3 months (out of 16 months of pregnancy).
TOTAL cost: no more than $4000... not each... TOTAL.

if you go in not expecting luxury and ask for a few pointers on this board, you'll be fine in a public hospital.

why you would think that it is "to be avoided at all costs", i don't know. i do know that i would rather have $100,000 in my pocket than spend it on a 4 day hospital stay. (we dont' have insurance, so it would have come out of my pocket.)
 
I totally agree with Cara, I had my delivery at a public hospital with epidural,then turned out to be an emergency C-section and yes it cost me under 5k for everything. No luxuries, but definitely safe and worth it since I don't have any insurance.

In other case if you don't know, if anyone do need emergency c-section in a private hospital, they will transfer to the public hospital anyway as they don't have the facilities I heard. I remembered when the doc said I needed emergency c-sect, I was immediately wisked off to their op room and baby was out in 15mins, definitely cannot imagine the danger and further pain I would have endured if I needed to be transported from one hospital to another!
 
pamela youde nethersole in chai wan (for island east)
queen mary in pok fu lam (for island west)

which one you use would depend on where you live.


but to clarify, private hospitals are ok for emergency c-sections. they are not prepared with a NICU in case there is a problem with the baby. the baby would have to be taken to Queen Mary Hospital if there were any serious complications.
 
also.... if i had full insurance cover, i would definitely go private (hotel matilda all the way... oops! that should have read hospital matilda).

for us, it just wasn't in the cards. i can pay for a lot of schoolling, trips to canada to meet the family for what i would have paid for the hospital if i'd gone private.
 
Im definitely of the view of saving HK$100,000 for cots / other essentials / education than for a few days in hospital!!
 
what you can do is see a private doctor for some of your check ups, then when you approach your due date, register to go to the public hospital. that way you get more personal care from the private doctor (and get to make use of your insurance) and the cheap facilities of the public hospital. you can call tsan yuk(they do the pre-natal checkups for qmh) and ask about doing part private and part public.
 
I'm currently seeing Dr Patrick Chan for check ups, and I'm delivering at Pamela Youde hospital in July. I'm extremely happy with Dr Chan - he's about the 4th or 5th obgyn that I've seen and by far, he's my favourite. He's also perfectly happy with doing the check ups and for me to deliver at the public hospital. Also, I've only ever waited about 10-15 min to see him!! (although I've only been twice, still early stages). He's a million times better than the other people that I've seen though.

My first child was born at Queen Mary, but I'm technically in the Pamela Youde area (North Point is right on the border between the two). I hadn't heard about Pamela Youde much when I was pregnant with my first and so I decided on Queen Mary. Since my first was born, I've heard really good things about Pamela Youde so I decided to go there instead. I'm planning on staying in their "special accommodation ward" which is 4 person rooms with better visiting hours, but I think it only costs about $15K to stay there (need to check though). I'm like you, my insurance covers about $40,000 but I don't want to be $60-100K out of pocket for a 3 day stay in hospital, plus a "nicer" birthing experience. The public system, although not particularly "pampering", is adequate.
 
Thanks NicoleJoy.

How was Queen Mary? Im thinking about going there. How do you go about booking yourself in to the public hospital? How can I find out about costs?

Many thanks.
 
i have a feeling that if you live in tai tam, you will have to go to pamela youde nethersole...it's much closer than QMH.
 
starbucks2 said:
As a guide to costs in the private world, I just delivered my second baby 2 weeks ago. I would say that the private obstetrician visits throughout my pregnancy were about $25K. My delivery for a twin room at Matilda - 3 days natural delivery with epidural was $90K. You may be able to go to a private doctor for half of your obs visits throughout your pregnancy and go public for the rest and may still have enough left to pay for a 4 person room in a private hospital for the delivery but I think that this would be unlikely. Your best bet may be to go private for all obs visits and then deliver at a public hospital. Of the $90K for my delivery bill, $38K was my obs fee, $10K for the epidural and $32K for the hospital charges. Pediatrician fees were on top of that (but they also should come out of the baby's insurance on the assumption that they will be covered under your insurance from birth).
Click to expand...

Is the doctor fee separate from the hospital fee??? I thought it was all in a package. I am planning on delivering in Union Hospital Shatin. Saw from the brochure that would cost like 20-30K for a twin room, but didn't know that doctor fee was not included....
 
AFAIK, that does not include doctors. you may also need a paediatrician, an anesthesiologist and an obgyn...could add up.
 
I'm also planning on delivering at Union, I see my doctor on Sat and will ask what his fees will be.... can you really negotiate the doctor's fee as someone stated earlier? That just seems incredible...
 
Panda2010 said:
Thanks NicoleJoy.

How was Queen Mary? Im thinking about going there. How do you go about booking yourself in to the public hospital? How can I find out about costs?

Many thanks.
Click to expand...

I was happy enough with Queen Mary but personally, I think that I will like Pamela Youde better - but I won't be able to say for sure until after the baby is born. Queen Mary doesn't have the option of "special accommodation wards" and their private rooms are almost the same price as a private hospital so there is no point. Also, it's probably THE busiest hospital in Hong Kong, soooo crazy and so many people. Pamela Youde seems quieter and I think that will be a benefit... even if I DON'T do the special accommodation ward, there's sure to be less people in the general ward than there were at Queen Mary...

To book at Queen Mary, you can call Tsan Yuk (someone already gave the number earlier), to book at Pamela Youde, you need to go there (no appointment necessary) with some kind of positive pregnancy test (I had a letter from my doctor) - although I think you could register by fax as well? I don't know. Pamela Youde's number is 2595 7727. Either hospital will be able to tell you which district you live in and therefore which hospital you should go to. If you want to go to the other one, you'll need "proof of residence" in the other district - a self addressed envelope to a friends house would suffice...
 
Nenea said:
I'm also planning on delivering at Union, I see my doctor on Sat and will ask what his fees will be.... can you really negotiate the doctor's fee as someone stated earlier? That just seems incredible...
Click to expand...

Very few Drs publish their fees and prefer to share this with patients during a consultation. Another Mum and I were seeing the same Dr, and we were quoted different fees for Natural birth. Also, fees increase depending what type of room you select. Our Dr wanted $8K for a general ward, and $50K for a private room :)
 
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