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Hospital costs - giving birth?
Hello,
I was wondering what others have paid in terms of hospital fees for giving birth? I recently had a lovely baby boy. I took the single room option and anticipated the 600 plus fee for that (4 day stay), but received an invoice for over 2,500 euros. Other than that I didn't take any major extras besides the diapers and some antibiotic creams. I combed the invoice looking for the exact charges under "Honoraires medicaux" which made it so high, but it only lists some pharmaceutical charges totaling less than 100 euro and then somehow a subtotal of almost 2000. There are things like gynecologie, pediatrie, biologique clinique listed, but no cost is noted. Does the charge come from the doctor's/ midwives fees for delivering the baby etc? Why isn't this elaborated in detail? Many thanks for any help.
Which hospital and is that before or after mutuelle intervention?
It's always worth asking about fees before choosing a hospital.
Don't know why the invoice isn't detailed, but basically if you opt for a single room the doctors honorariums aren't capped any more. The often charge like two or three times as much as they normally would. So the extra cost goes way beyond the extra cost for the room alone.
Edith Cavell is a private hospital and well-known for its high charges (and quality services). It is usually chosen by people with additional hospital insurance. 2500 eur after the mutuelle intervention is exactly what I have heard about giving birth there normally, without anestesia and for 4 days stay. In another hospital it would be around 300 eur for the patient.
I gave birth there in February and stil don't know how much I will have to pay but I expect an invoice of around 8-10 Keur for a cesarian with some complications.
Since you said Edith Cavell and single room, you have your answer I'm afraid and that is AFTER mutuelle have paid their part, it's known as the most expensive hospital in Belgium, you can give birth at many other hospitals for very little cost. You get an awful lot of EU civil servants and expats on full insurance giving birth there and they get all costs covered.
Congratulations on your baby! :)
I think it's worth giving aring to the hospital billing and ask for the details of the undetailed sum. Must be the extra doctor's fees. Also ask your mutuelle what does the Hospitalia cover - it may worths a couple of phone calls.
I had a C-section at Edith Cavell, and the costs charged to me were about 500.
Having said that, I chose to give birth the second time in St Luc, the private room there was as nice as in Cavell, and it's true that there were some younger doctors (I think they were residents, not med studets), but my doctor stepped right in once things got a little rocky. The after-bill was less than 200 euros. So if you think about second time, it may be worths considering public hospitals.
Then the doctor should give you separate bills for those prenatal checkups, as those are refundable (at least up to a ceiling). Lab tests blood tests, are also refndable. I suppose part of the delivery should be covered too. Once you get the bill, talk to your mutuelle about it and see what else they should pay. Good luck!
I realise this post is from a while back, but in case anyone else with a similar question stumbles on it, you can find more information on the costs associated with giving birth in Belgium on this website:
http://www.thevillage.be/pregnancy/costs-and-insurance
The section on choosing a hospital is also helpful in understanding some of the factors that might influence choice of hospital:
http://www.thevillage.be/pregnancy/choosing-a-hospital
Ultimately though, choosing a single room really can double or triple the total cost of a birth. And it's really worth taking this into account if you do not have hospitalisation insurance that covers a single room.
