Once you’ve made the decision to not have any more children, you may be wondering what to do next with your private health cover. It’s important you revisit your health cover and make the necessary updates to take pregnancy cover off the policy, so you are no longer paying for it. Pregnancy cover comes with a higher premium on most private health policies so it’s crucial that once you have your last baby this is updated.
Firstly, let’s start with what private health pregnancy cover actually is. Pregnancy cover is clinical category that can be added to private health insurance policies. It covers the costs associated with giving birth in a private hospital, such as obstetrics and anaesthetist fees, hospital accommodation, and other medical expenses to the Medicare scheduled fee.
Steps to take after the birth of your last child
Once your baby is born, make sure you contact your private health fund with the baby’s name and DOB to be added onto your policy. This is especially important if the baby needs to be admitted to neonatal care a few days after the birth due to complications. Remember when you go home, your private health fund will also be available to help you transition to your new adjusted life by offering various benefits and services such as postnatal classes or remedial massage, as long as they are covered by your extras policy.
Adding your newborn to your health policy
It’s a fairly simple process. Once your baby comes along, simply contact your health fund and add your baby’s name to your private health policy. Your baby should be added to the policy as quickly as possible post birth to have the same health cover entitlements as the longest serving parent.
If you’re planning on having more children but not in the near future
It may also be worth considering removing pregnancy cover for now, if you’re not planning on further expanding your family. Pregnancy cover has a waiting period, so you wouldn’t be able to claim for pregnancy-related expenses until that waiting period is served. It may be more cost-effective to downgrade the cover for now and add it back on when you’re closer to planning to start a family again.
Ultimately, the decision to downgrade your pregnancy cover on your private health policy depends on your individual circumstances. Before making any changes to your health insurance policy, it is important to speak with your health fund to discuss your options and the potential impact on your coverage. If you do decide to drop pregnancy cover from your policy, be aware of the waiting periods involved if you want to renew the policy. Most insurers require a waiting period of 12 months before you can access any further pregnancy-related benefits. This means that if you decide to conceive after dropping pregnancy coverage, you will need to wait at least a year before your coverage kicks in.
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