It is important that you have organized the insurance for your new baby before they are born. All newborn babies are covered via their mother’s policy for the first 30 days of life. The only exception to this is where a mother is herself on her mother’s policy in which case the new ‘grandchild’ will need separate insurance organising before birth, or the family will potentially be responsible for all costs.

There are two sets of fees payable for a newborn baby – the hospital fees and the Paediatrician fees. These are completely separate. If you decide to have your baby cared for by a government Paediatrician, the Paediatrician fees still apply, are still the same but will be paid directly to the hospital.

Because of the high costs involved in neonatal care, parents are often very scared, specially when they see ‘limits’ getting close. However, in the vast majority of cases, parents are very adequately covered and once they reach certain limits they stop paying the co-pay element too (that doesn’t mean cover stops).

However, there are variations by insurance companies and so we are always very happy to confirm EXACTLY what you can expect, so there are no nasty surprises (beyond the obvious shock of needing neonatal care to start with).

Again, my rates, despite my seniority, are absolutely standard and the same as you would pay for an HSA paediatrician.

If your baby is admitted to the neonatal (special care baby) unit there will again be two sets of costs. The first is to the hospital for the care provided by the neonatal nurses, the cost of laboratory tests, disposable items, equipment etc. The second cost is for the Neonatologist or Paediatrician. Again, if a mother decides to move to the government these two different costs remain the same, it’s just they are both paid to the hospital. Dr Watkin charges the same amount as the government paediatricians for care on the neonatal unit.

All insurance policies will cover for in-patient neonatal care, although you will almost certainly have a co-pay. It is important to refer to your maximum in-patient co-pay per year, so that you get an idea of what the maximum you are likely to be charged is, rather than worrying about being charged x percent of all the costs ad infinitum. I find it helpful for parents, once they have got over the initial worries and anxieties of a baby on the neonatal unit, to meet with both the hospital billing team and The Medical Clinic billing team to help them better understand the actual parental financial responsibilities and liabilities. This usually reduces parent’s worry and anxieties!

Please talk to us early if you are worried about the cost of neonatal care and we will do everything to help you understand your costs better and the various limits.