sandy81

Hello All,

I have been skimming through this forum to know answer for our below scenario, but couldn't find anything definitive.

OK, here's the scenario, we've been granted PR 175 visa just a couple of days back and have just found out that my wife is pregnant with our 1st child, (very early days -and not at all planned, as we knew that pregnancy and immigration doesn't go well with each other). Anyway, we are more than happy as it is the blessings of the God and quite excited too with this sweetest ever news :-) ...

However, approx. due date and IED are very very close.We don't want to go through the process of applying child visa at our home country, and would like our child to be born in Australia. We are already booked to fly in the end of Oct and I have also resigned from my job.

I have couple of questions here, may I ask any kind soul over here to share his/her valuable knowledge about Medicare in Australia, it would be really appreciable and help to decide our further course of actions ...

- Are maternity related expenses covered by Medicare for the PR visa holders from the day they arrive ? If yes, how much % we have to pay out-of-pocket expenses ?

- I know that private health insurance won't cover pregnancy as they treat it as a pre-existing condition, Is it the same case with Medicare ?

Thanks !

mvt550

Hi there.

As a 175 permanent resident you will have full access to Medicare benefits from your arrival.

If your wife delivers in a public hospital you will not face any out of pocket expense for delivery.
The fees you might encounter are outpatient antenatal and postnatal obstetrician appointments if not through the public hospital system (ie if you see the obstetrician in his/her "rooms"). In this situation you will pay the consultation fee and will be eligible for a Medicare rebate of some of that fee.

Madhu (a GP)

aman_sharma2k1

Is it easy to get the appointment in the Public hospital? Or do we need to book the appointment in a planned manner...I remember..once my friend told(he is in Oz and have PR) that its very difficult to get the appointments in the public hospictals and you need to get the appointment in advance..may be 4-5 months in advance...

Iwannabethere

DOn't worry at all. When you land, allow a week for immigration to update their systems then apply for your Medicare card. Make an appointment at a local GP (any one will do) for your wife and the doctor will take it from there. I had my first appointment within a week. I landed in November last year at 28 weeks pregnant and everything was handled smoothly and professionally. I had an elective c-section at 38 weeks and I was not charged for anything. You may have to pay for scans but not much else. I was in a public hospital and had my own ensuite room. They were wonderful!

Congratulations on the pregnancy! One word of warning, it is difficult to get travel insurance after 28 weeks of pregnancy so I would aim to have landed by then.

Adi

sandy81

Now I have peace of mind ! Thanks a lot Madhu ... Very useful info. Certainly appreciable

sandy81

Thanks Adi for this useful info ... My wife would be around 19 weeks pregnant by the time we fly to Australia...So I guess, we would be fine

DEEDEE01

Congratulations on both the baby and the grant !!

Janna and Nick

Wonderful news. Congratulations soon to be mummy and daddy!

sandy81

Thanks for the wishes - Janna and Nick & DEEDEE