Going private cost ?

framework123

Hi,

Looking for some pregnancy advice...We are hoping to go private in CUH..Just wanted to get an estimate of cost..

We havent priced any consultants yet but would their price include scans etc or would this be extra?

Our health Insurance covers 3 nights accomodation to €3,500
Consultant fee for delivery of baby €846.43
And €400 twoards outpatient consulation visits

Could any1 give an estimate of how much we would be paying out over the pregnancy? Also can you pay in installements or would it be lump sum at start?
Also wife wants a C-section, will this cost more?

Noopti

Maybe it is different in CUH or with your insurance provider, but all we paid was the consultant fees - everything else was covered (ended up having emergency c-section, with 5 days in the hospital).

Also for our consultant we could pay the fee in installments (however much we wanted, whenever we wanted) after initial deposit, once it was all paid off by the 6 week post natal check up. This could be different depending on the hospital/consultant though.

crazyderk

Hi Framework,

Looking at that coverage I think you might be with Quinn? looks very similar to my own. do you have an excess on those outpatient fees? my guess would be yes!
That's a whole different issue!

We decided to go semi private rather than private due to the cost.

If you go public you wont pay anything but I think you get the standard 20 weeks scan and whatever other scans they see fit and the queues wait times might be a little longer and your in a different section of the hospital dealing with a junior consultant.

If you go semi private the cost for us was 900 euro to be payed in one lump sum which was at the 12 week checkup and that covers all future scans/ checkups and is in a different part of the hospital with less queues less wait times and a more senior consultant.

If you go private I believe its upward of 4000 euro and I would assume all paid at once. you go to the fancy private building first class service and so on.

You choose at the start and I don't believe you can change mid way through. so you cant start with public go through all the steps pay nothing and then book into the hospital and say im private heres my Quinn card.

When you arrive at the hospital at the 9 month mark the c-section and all other costs are covered under the 3,500 limit that you have in your original post. so as far as Im aware there is no cost when the baby is delivered.

The 400 euro towards outpatient fees you can claim back but it depends on your plan and if you have an excess or not, if you do you will need to claim the excess in medical receipts before they will start paying out for other medical expenses

framework123

Yes its Quinn - Essential Plus Starter , there is an excess I believe..Would the €3000 plus consultant fees not eat up all the excess so you are guaranteed to get the €400 back ? What I mean is I pay the first €250 of consultant fees ( cosidered excess)..this still leaves €2750 to be paid of which Quinn would contribute the €400 or have I misunderstood ?

Ayla

crazyderk wrote: »

If you go public you wont pay anything but I think you get the standard 20 weeks scan and whatever other scans they see fit and the queues wait times might be a little longer and your in a different section of the hospital dealing with a junior consultant.

If you go semi private the cost for us was 900 euro to be payed in one lump sum which was at the 12 week checkup and that covers all future scans/ checkups and is in a different part of the hospital with less queues less wait times and a more senior consultant.

If you go private I believe its upward of 4000 euro and I would assume all paid at once. you go to the fancy private building first class service and so on.

The underlined parts you have there are completely inaccurate. In my hospital (ie: Sligo) the public & private patients were all in there together - going private didn't even guarantee you a private room. Also there are only a few consultants, all of which are senior, and all of which see all the public & private patients. I had completely first class service as a public patient and to infer that public patients receive anything else is unfair.

fitzcoff

Hi, just wanted to give you the point of view from the public system in Cork, I personally could not justify the cost of going private but each to their own.

I'm on my third pregnancy. My first I had in St Finbarrs 5 years ago, I went to a check up at 32 weeks and my blood pressure was high I was admitted straight away. I was in and out of the hospital then until he was born at 38ish weeks. I was induced, had my waters broken and was given the drip, which resulted in a epidural and ended up having a section due to failure to progress.

On my second I was in CUMH. He's 2 now. Got to meet the consultant at 20 weeks who went through my options as I had had a c section and explained everything to me. I decided to go for an elective section and there was no problems with this. I had a short scan at each appointment. I meet with junior consultant and consultants throughout the pregnancy and they were nothing but helpful.

During my stay I was in a room with one other person, she changed during the stay as I was there for 5 days. Could not fault the care I received.

In the pregnancy I was having fainting/dizzy spells, my GP sent a letter to CUMH and was seen asap, sent for ECG, bloods etc no questions asked.


Now I am on my third, due in June. so far I had a scan at 9 weeks due to history, met the consultant at 10 weeks, wasn't a junior one. Had my dating scan at 12 weeks and I have another appointment next week, I'll be almost 18 weeks.

I would not think to go private unless I was older or had a under lying medical condition. I have a friend who went private as she has very high blood pressure and I met the same consultant as her and she felt that I got a lot more information from him at my first appointment that what she had gotten.

I was waiting for about 2 hours to be seen and between visiting the midwife then waiting for the consultant was another hour but I brought a book with me and was prepared for the wait.

As I said each to their own but I have the care in the public system as been second to none but then again maybe I was just lucky.

Cadyboo

Consultants are about 3k. Half at first visit, half at second visit. You see the same one in their suites at around 12 weeks, 20 weeks, 28 weeks and not sure then as I am not that far yet. You get a scan and a meet with midwife every visit. I am very happy with my choice to go private, I love my con he is lovely and I feel at ease knowing that I will see only him and he knows me. This is my first prgnancy and to say I was a bit stressed is an understatement. I don't know if it is possible to go semi private in Cork, I was told I could not.
As far as I know when you go under your insurance everything else is free, including if you are hospitalised at all during the pregnancy.
One piece of advice for you though, the free ante natal classes organised by the hospital get booked out straight away, so ring asap to book them if you want to go to them, regardless of private or public. Happy pregnancy!!

Neyite

I am in Galway.

I was advised to go public by a family friend who has gone private on 3 pregnancies. The only additional medical care that she got was before the 20 week mark she got more scans and check-ups but for actual delivery, she saw the consultant once during her 3 labours, and it was midwives that did the actual deliveries. The consultant still got their money. After the second trimester I think the frequency of checkups is the same for private and public anyway.

Because of a minor endocrinology issue, and a missed misscarriage of a twin I have I have been seen much earlier than other mums-to-be as I am attending the diabetic clinic. On my 18 week visit they told me I didnt need to come into them anymore but if I wanted to, I could, so I chose to attend. I attended at 11 weeks, 18 weeks, and 21 weeks so far.

The way I see it, that €3000 would be better spent on baby stuff rather than a consultant who is not around when I go into labour.

Sittingpretty

It's all down to personal choice I think. I'm in Limerick and I went private and I was very happy with the care I got. Fee was 3k payable in installments.
Insurance covered my 3 day stay and I've yet to apply for the tax back.
I have heard excellent reports from Cumh for public patients.
Best of luck with your decision.

jamboambo1

Something work checking with your health provider but our policy did not cover the cost of our baby in an incubator for 2 days. This was over E600 a night. It might just have been our policy but worth checking out . At over E600 a night this could add up very quickly. We have to pay this ourselves.

Cadyboo

jamboambo1 wrote: »

Something work checking with your health provider but our policy did not cover the cost of our baby in an incubator for 2 days. This was over E600 a night. It might just have been our policy but worth checking out . At over E600 a night this could add up very quickly. We have to pay this ourselves.

You would think that this would all be covered as you have enough to worrying about. My baby will be automatically added to my policy from birth but Im going to ring to make sure now after hearing that!

sud1

I have went private for the last 2 pregnancies and i get scaned at each appointment...appointments where this time..week 7,12,20,25(3d scan),28,32,35,37,39,40..mine is a straight forward pregnancy so this is the basic service..for me the money was well spent but i would have no prob going public..i sacraficed going on holiday this year..I liked the idea of being able to choose my appointment time and how quickly you are seen..my friend is also pregnant and going public(cumh) not midwife clinic she was seen at 12 week dating scan then 20 week no scan and is due soon for 32 week apointment and she prob will get a scan at that one..it seems to be pot luck if you get a scan or not..at the end of the day either way you end up in the cumh for delivery and every one is treated the same for delivery...

the cost for me was 2600 but that is because I have had an another baby with the same consultant...I think it has gone up to 3000 now but remember you can claim 20% back on med1..

My consultant was not on hospital ground but out the lee road in the lee clinic..I would highly recommend him...

lollb

oh dear.................. can anyone explain the cost of going private in a public hosptial, i.e. wexford general. i have quinn essential which basiclly covers the same as the original poster. i thought that you paid the consultant at each visit i.e. €150 and that when you went in to deliver quinn pay the rest?? is this not the case? i was hoping to go private ................

wmpdd3

I had quinn essential and for my first baby in 2010 at waterford regional. I was quoted 2500 euro for private and 1900 semi private. Needless to say, i went public and cancelled my insurance!

dahamsta

Another public recommendation here, first baby is 8 months now after a near-seamless experience in CUMH. The only real negative (apart from the obvious!) was one obnoxious nurse on one visit, but you'll get that either way. If there's a 2nd babs, fingers crossed, it'll be public too.

CUMH is the most modern maternity hospital in the country so the general care will be the same either way, and very high quality. The gains to be gotten from private care are few; and importantly, none are guaranteed.

notsobusy

I'm going public in the Lourdes in Drogheda and it's fine. I have an underlying medical condition and whilst they weren't bothered by it, I was so went up to Newry and paid for a couple of extra scans and visits and tests. This put my mind at ease and I was happy to continue with going Public in the Lourdes. The only thing I find is that the Irish midwives and obs I've seen tend to be a bit old fashion and obnoxious but all the foreign Dr's I've seen are lovely and actually answer any questions I might have, rather than wave me off with a "you're young and fit sure what would be wrong with you".

I'm glad that I didn't decide to go private in the end!

TwoMums2Be

We are going private (well semi) & it's costing us €3000 payable in 3 installments.
Our reason for going private was mainly so that at each appointment my partner would be recognised for her role without having to explain our relationship over each time. I am also happier to be getting scans at every appointment, have someone on hand that has a brilliant reputation & is lovely in general.
It's a lot of money but when your baby didn't come for free in the first place everything is relative

Whether to go public or private is a very personal decision...many will tell you it's a waste of money but if it gives you reassurance & you can afford it then do what feels right for you!