Our Gold tiered products include pregnancy and childbirth, like Gold Comprehensive Hospital cover and our top hospital and extras Gold Ultimate Health Cover.

Going private gives you more freedom of choice throughout your pregnancy. Some of the choices are: 

• Having your own obstetrician who can get to know you and your pregnancy 
• Seeing the same doctor or midwife throughout your pregnancy 
• Choosing where you give birth 
• Requesting your own room in a private hospital after you give birth 
• Not waiting as long for appointments through private practices.

Going public as a public patient doesn’t necessarily mean you lack choice though. There are various models of care to choose from – for example, at an antenatal clinic, at a midwives’ clinic or through a shared care arrangement with your GP and midwifery service – and you can have care with little intervention but still have medical back-up if needed at the hospital.  

If you decide to go public as a public patient, you could be faced with appointment waiting times stretching out (compared to private practices) and you don’t always see the same doctor or midwife. You’re also more likely to share a room after you give birth. 

You should take into consideration the level of hospital and extras support you’d like throughout your pregnancy and your budget when making the decision that’s best for you and your baby. 

Gold cover either fully or partially eliminates your out-of-pocket inpatient hospital fees in a Member’s First or Bupa Network hospital. This includes your accommodation in a private or public hospital and most hospital fees. Product excesses or co-payments apply. 

You also get benefits from a Members First hospital that offers obstetric services. These include: 

• childbirth and parenting education classes prior to and after delivery 
• postnatal clinics that provide support, advice and education to mothers and families for up to eight weeks after you leave hospital 
• parenting support services 
• breastfeeding classes for new and experienced mothers 
• up to 100% of the Medical Benefit Scheme for inpatient medical expenses. 

Be mindful of non-agreement hospitals, which are private hospitals and day hospitals that have not entered into an agreement with Bupa. You may have large out-of-pocket expenses when attending one of these hospitals. 

Read more about hospital arrangements here.

The 12-month waiting period on hospital cover needs to be served to be covered for pregnancy-related services. If you have extras cover that includes antenatal and postnatal services, you can still claim for services like birthing courses with a registered midwife and breastfeeding support. The waiting period for many extras services is just 2 months. Read more about our Super Extras Active cover here.

You should always talk to your obstetrician, the hospital and us about any out-of-pocket expenses you may have. Out-of-pocket expenses may include both outpatient services, like consultations and your obstetrician’s management fee, and inpatient services when you’re at hospital, such as specialists, surgeons and anaesthetists. 

We don’t contribute to benefits toward any outpatient medical services for customers who hold Medicare. However, they may be claimable through Medicare. For inpatient medical treatment, we will pay up to the Medicare Benefits Schedule (MBS) fee, but anything over the MBS fee will be an out-of-pocket expense. 

The Bupa Medical Gap Scheme is all about reducing your medical costs for treatment when you're admitted to hospital though. Each doctor involved in your treatment can choose to use the Bupa Medical Gap Scheme for your admission in a public or private hospital with which Bupa has an agreement. Read more about the Bupa Medical Gap Scheme here.  

Bupa has entered into agreements with private hospitals across Australia, so choosing a Member’s First or Network hospital will reduce your out-of-pocket expenses. Product excesses or co-payments will apply, so make sure to thoroughly read your health insurance product information.