Obstetricians’ fees rise to 1000 times inflation rate
WOMEN are flocking back to the public hospital system to give birth as obstetricians’ charges are found to be 1000 per cent above the inflation rate.
Pregnancy
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THE medical bills for having a baby have skyrocketed more than 1000 per cent above inflation in the last 24 years leaving mums facing an average $264 bill to visit an obstetrician.
In addition, new mums face an average $781 charge for a hospital delivery that is not covered by either their health fund or Medicare, a 77 per cent rise above inflation since 1992-93, new research shows.
The report published in the Australian New Zealand Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology today does not include the booking fees of between $2000 and $10,000 charged by many obstetricians.
In 1992-93 the average out-of-pocket cost for seeing an obstetrician in their clinic was $12.83; if it had risen in line with inflation it should have been $23.35 in 2016-17 but in fact it had grown to $264.
In 1992-93 the average out-of-pocket cost for an in hospital service provided by an obstetrician was $242.86; if it had risen in line with inflation it should have been $442 in 2016-17, but in fact had grown to $781.
The exorbitant charges add to mounting pressure on the government to force doctors to publish their fees so consumers can make a more informed choice about the best value doctors.
Health Minister Greg Hunt has set up a committee to examine why doctors are charging out-of-pocket medical expenses and find ways consumers can be better informed of fees before agreeing to treatment.
The number of medical services that attracted a gap payment has increased from one in nine to one in seven between 2014-15 and 2015-16.
The high charges by obstetricians are driving women away from private hospitals back to the public sector to give birth.
The proportion of women giving birth in private hospitals dropped from 28.2 per cent in 2006-07 to 24.2 per cent in 2015-16.
A recent Ipsos survey conducted for iSelect found 37 per cent of women with some form of private health insurance opted to have their baby through the public system.
One in three women having a private birth had out of pocket expenses of between $2000 and $5000 and one in ten reported being more than $5000 out of pocket the survey found.
Health fund data shows upfront booking fees charged by obstetricians can be as high as $13,000.
Australian Medical Association president and obstetrician Dr Michael Gannon said antenatal care was now more complex and many obstetricians employed midwives on staff and this had to be paid for.
The AMA is opposing any attempt to make doctors publish their fees on a website to help patients choose a better-value doctor.
Dr Gannon said he charged 16 different fees for delivering a baby depending on the health fund a woman belonged to.
Doctors like himself who participated in no-gap schemes had to set their fees within the parameters set by the funds and this meant there was no uniform charge, he said.
Experts have warned publishing doctor’s fees could be inflationary with lower charging doctors increasing their fees if they see their colleagues charge more than they do.
Health fund membership has plunged by 50,000 members, and insurers are desperate to drive down the out-of-pocket costs faced by their members.
Medicare data shows Victorian women face the highest out of pocket charges for seeing an obstetrician in their clinic ($395), while Western Australian women face the highest out-of-pocket charges for a hospital delivery ($928).
Out-of-pocket charges for obstetric care
| In hospital | Out of hospital | |
| NSW | $788 | $328 |
| VIC | $780 | $395 |
| QLD | $683 | $163 |
| SA | $912 | $197 |
| WA | $928 | $183 |
| TAS | $655 | $123 |
| NT | $302 | $340 |
| ACT | $698 | $260 |