Newly pregnant and moving to HK

S

Superleeiz

Registered User
Hi all!!

I'm admittedly extremely ignorant on how the system works in Hong Kong for maternity insurance. I understand the very basic is of public vs private.

I'm considered high risk and will want to go private (I think!) but would love it someone could explain how it works from a broad perspective.

My biggest question (apologize in advance for having no idea what I'm talking about) is if you have private health insurance (through my husbands employer) we all or some of the fees covered? I've read how much it costs per night in hospital etc as well as ultrasounds etc. which is so expensive. Is this at all covered by insurance?

I appreciate the help! We are moving in Sept and I'm die in March.

:)
 
Hi Superleeiz

From my understanding there is no insurance would cover normal delivery once you get pregnant
but you can still buy it to cover complication only one i know is AXA would cover (in HK complication would be around 200 K HKD)

I have maternity insurance from Bupa international and waiting period is 10 months which I bought it once I move to HK 3 years so now I am starting claiming for antenatal check up.

However a lot expats here also do private antenatal check up and delivery at public hospital is also an option , one of the best private is Queen mary hospital so you can decide once you reach hong kong

Good luck and welcome to Hong kong
 
My husband's health insurance covered us as soon as he started work in HK with no maternity wait period. But you would have an issue because you're already pregnant. Get all the policy documents and review carefully, that's the only way you'll know what they will pay for.

How much private maternity costs depends on your choices. If you choose a private room you will pay double compared to a shared room, for example. Most of the hospitals fees are on their websites so take a look at Sanitorium, Adventist, Matilda, etc. You would then have to add the OB prenatal visits and delivery fees, which vary from doctor to doctor.

We are going private but I hear that for a high risk pregnancy you may be best off in the public system, perhaps topped up with private OB prenatal appointments. In emergencies they will send you from the private hospital to the public one.
 
Also depends on what you mean by high risk. If you are having multiples or have a history of pre-term delivery then you would be better to use the public system as they have the special care baby units. If you give birth in a private hospital and have to be transferred to paediatric intensive care at the public, you will continue to pay private costs anyway and might be in a different hospital to your baby.

I would suggest you supplement with private antenatal care so that you have have more frequent check ups/scans as needed - but this would depend on your case. A friend of mine who is high risk has opted to go for the private section of a public hospital to get the best of both worlds.
 
Thanks everyone! This is helpful. :) I have high blood pressure which makes me high risk. I was induced w my first to avoid preeclampsia.

When we move I'll be 3-4 months pregnant. I'm nervous about this wait time I keep hearing about. Will I be able to figure it out once I'm there? Is there something I should be doing from here before we arrive? Will I be able to find a place to give birth as it seems that everyone registers basically at conception? :)

Also, are there any resources you know about you could lead me to to help me educate myself on process there?

Thanks so much everyone! I'm feeling overwhelmed!
 
Newbiab--sorry I misread what you said. That's a little reassuring -- I hope I'm covered and have no maternity wait!
 
Definitely check with your health insurance provider. In many cases, you won't have coverage if you are already pregnant but really depends on the insurance package. The wait periods are there to prevent you buying insurance cover once you are pregnant. They tend to be 10 or 12 months long (ie: longer than pregnancy). Also the amount of coverage varies from policy to policy.

Private maternity care is very expensive in Hong Kong. Do you have insurance where you are now? Is it worldwide coverage? If so, it might be good to keep it if possible until you find out the situation with your husband's work insurance.

One of the quirks of the private system is that as your package increases the fees for everything else increase too. Eg: the OB delivery charges are higher for a private room vs semi-private or ward.

The good news is that the public system in Hong Kong is fantastic. In actual fact if you have an emergency at the private hospitals then often you (or baby) will be transferred to the nearest public hospital. The bedside manner at public hospitals is a bit lacking but the care is top-notch.

If you do end up in the public system then check out Annerley Midwives (Annerley - Pregnant in Hong Kong? Pregnancy, checkups, antenatal classes and birth support) they offer advice and packages for navigating the public system. Many people also supplement public delivery with private check-ups with an OB-GYN. You'll need to check to make sure your OB is ok with providing check-ups when not doing the delivery though.
 
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