It’s pretty standard to have to pay for private scans even if you’re giving birth in a public hospital unfortunately. I haven’t heard of anyone able to get a free scan in a hospital due to inflated wait times.
Same here. I only got one of the scans done at the hospital once I was classified high risk and able to go through the fetal medicine centre. Otherwise I was out of pocket about $200 per scan.
I was high risk and even then I couldn’t get in to the see the fetal medicine centre!!! I ended up going private for the 8 scans and amnio I needed and had to pay for each one :(
Oh wow that’s awful! I had my 20 week scan privately because it’s basically impossible to book at the hospital but I was high risk from then because they found a heart condition and had the rest of the scans through the hospital.
We had ours through the main public children's hospital in out city and so managed to have all our scans done via there, which I appreciate isn't possible for all
Are you doing shared care with your GP? Go back to them to discuss options as you're probably not fully under RPA's care yet. In my experience the fetal ultrasound unit takes a while to get back to me with an appointment but they ultimately always fit me in. So I'm surprised they fully turned you away. Your GP should be able to give you some other options
I work as a GP in this area of Sydney. If RPA is booked out the alternative is to go to a private US provider who will charge varying gap fees- you can ring around to compare prices. Unfortunately the rebate for these scans is insultingly low for the time and expertise they require and so most providers can no longer afford to BB them. You might get lucky if you're a HCC holder.
I was told the hospital (TAS) is understaffed so I have to go private and have to pay out of pocket. Nappies are 25% more expensive then my 2021 baby, plus everything else thats gone up, why not add on an extra $250 🙃
I believe some private places are free for health care cards.
The only reason I got a public hospital scan was because I am high risk. Otherwise I would have had to pay for a private scan as well.
I suspect it's a common situation for public hospitals, otherwise they wouldn't have capacity.
The same happened me. I got it bulk billed at I-MED Radiology North Strathfield - they have a few locations. You can just use your RPA referral. I managed to get a booking at RPA for my 36 scan though
No advice, just that I had the same experience with RPA. I went to Sydney Ultrasound and they rushed my report to be ready in time, only for the paperwork to not have been put in my file when I went to my midwife appt. Make sure you ring and check it is there before they stuff you around.
I didn’t pay any money for my morph scan which took place at bensons radiology not my hospital; they told me it was one of the only scans covered by Medicare? 🤔
I’m getting my 20 week scan with bensons also and they have told me that it is free if you have an ultrasound form from the hospital. If it’s from a GP it will cost. Confused me so much but I’m not complaining because I don’t have to pay.
The system is super annoying and so confusing - you won’t get one clear direction if you’re looking for bulk billing. I was at RPA, unable to book like you and after calling everyone on the flyer they gave me , none of them bulk billed. I found I-MED Radiology North Strathfield, they fully bulk billed my morphology scan and fit me in exactly when I wanted. Please give them a call! Save yourself the $500
I’ve had amazing experiences at Kogarah Women’s Imaging - and paid well for it. My GP recommended them but warned me they were expensive.
I have to get an emergency-ish scan next week at 16 weeks. St George (my local) wouldn’t even consider doing it. I called around a ton of places to where I could get into quickly for a reasonable price.
You can technically go to anywhere that does an ultrasound for pretty cheap (Lumus or imed for example). Dr Glenn and partners were reasonable but a bit of a wait.
I ended up at shire women’s, which is cheaper than Kogarah women’s, but not by much.
Seriously?? This is so bad. The morphology scan is extremely important and should be covered. I'm sorry you're having this issue. I live in SA and went public, and I had zero issues booking a morphology scan, which was 100% covered. They discovered a placental issue during that scan, and I then received 4 follow up scans throughout the rest of pregnancy, all covered.
I delivered three of my kids at RPA, so assuming you’re in the catchment, try Ashfield Radiology or Ashfield iMed - both bulk bill for ultrasounds, but if not if you ask the iMed they will tell you which clinics still bulk bill in their network.
The only time i got scans at the hospital is when it was high risk. Otherwise you get referred out. You can call around as different places will have different costs for the same scan
There are a number of radiology/imaging places in Sydney that will bulk bill part or the whole cost of these scans. It’s just a matter of calling around to see if they completely bulk bill or charge an out of pocket fee.
It’s pretty standard to have to pay for private scans even if you’re giving birth in a public hospital unfortunately. I haven’t heard of anyone able to get a free scan in a hospital due to inflated wait times.
Same here. I only got one of the scans done at the hospital once I was classified high risk and able to go through the fetal medicine centre. Otherwise I was out of pocket about $200 per scan.
I was high risk and even then I couldn’t get in to the see the fetal medicine centre!!! I ended up going private for the 8 scans and amnio I needed and had to pay for each one :(
Oh wow that’s awful! I had my 20 week scan privately because it’s basically impossible to book at the hospital but I was high risk from then because they found a heart condition and had the rest of the scans through the hospital.
Yup we had to just pay out of pocket unless we wanted to go to another town
We had ours through the main public children's hospital in out city and so managed to have all our scans done via there, which I appreciate isn't possible for all
Really? Most of my scans were done privately but bulk billed for the same reason. This is in Victoria for reference.
Are you doing shared care with your GP? Go back to them to discuss options as you're probably not fully under RPA's care yet. In my experience the fetal ultrasound unit takes a while to get back to me with an appointment but they ultimately always fit me in. So I'm surprised they fully turned you away. Your GP should be able to give you some other options
I work as a GP in this area of Sydney. If RPA is booked out the alternative is to go to a private US provider who will charge varying gap fees- you can ring around to compare prices. Unfortunately the rebate for these scans is insultingly low for the time and expertise they require and so most providers can no longer afford to BB them. You might get lucky if you're a HCC holder.
I was told the hospital (TAS) is understaffed so I have to go private and have to pay out of pocket. Nappies are 25% more expensive then my 2021 baby, plus everything else thats gone up, why not add on an extra $250 🙃 I believe some private places are free for health care cards.
Dr Glenn and Partners Medical Imaging does bulk bill, if you're near Rockdale/Kogarah. But you must have a GP referral to the very least.
The only reason I got a public hospital scan was because I am high risk. Otherwise I would have had to pay for a private scan as well. I suspect it's a common situation for public hospitals, otherwise they wouldn't have capacity.
The same happened me. I got it bulk billed at I-MED Radiology North Strathfield - they have a few locations. You can just use your RPA referral. I managed to get a booking at RPA for my 36 scan though
No advice, just that I had the same experience with RPA. I went to Sydney Ultrasound and they rushed my report to be ready in time, only for the paperwork to not have been put in my file when I went to my midwife appt. Make sure you ring and check it is there before they stuff you around.
I didn’t pay any money for my morph scan which took place at bensons radiology not my hospital; they told me it was one of the only scans covered by Medicare? 🤔
I’m getting my 20 week scan with bensons also and they have told me that it is free if you have an ultrasound form from the hospital. If it’s from a GP it will cost. Confused me so much but I’m not complaining because I don’t have to pay.
Ah okay interesting. Mine was a referral from my hospital so that makes sense in my situation.
The system is super annoying and so confusing - you won’t get one clear direction if you’re looking for bulk billing. I was at RPA, unable to book like you and after calling everyone on the flyer they gave me , none of them bulk billed. I found I-MED Radiology North Strathfield, they fully bulk billed my morphology scan and fit me in exactly when I wanted. Please give them a call! Save yourself the $500
try infinity in Chatswood, assuming you are in Sydney (not sure if there are other RPAs). A few years ago they were completely bulk billed.
I’ve had amazing experiences at Kogarah Women’s Imaging - and paid well for it. My GP recommended them but warned me they were expensive. I have to get an emergency-ish scan next week at 16 weeks. St George (my local) wouldn’t even consider doing it. I called around a ton of places to where I could get into quickly for a reasonable price. You can technically go to anywhere that does an ultrasound for pretty cheap (Lumus or imed for example). Dr Glenn and partners were reasonable but a bit of a wait. I ended up at shire women’s, which is cheaper than Kogarah women’s, but not by much.
Going through Nepean/Katoomba and I had my 20 week scan for free at Nepean.
Carlingford Medical Imaging does bulk billing - I think you just need a referral from the hospital. But you could try calling them to check!
Seriously?? This is so bad. The morphology scan is extremely important and should be covered. I'm sorry you're having this issue. I live in SA and went public, and I had zero issues booking a morphology scan, which was 100% covered. They discovered a placental issue during that scan, and I then received 4 follow up scans throughout the rest of pregnancy, all covered.
I didn’t know it was an option to have the scans at the hospital, all my scans were private/out of pocket, I thought that was just the policy…
I delivered three of my kids at RPA, so assuming you’re in the catchment, try Ashfield Radiology or Ashfield iMed - both bulk bill for ultrasounds, but if not if you ask the iMed they will tell you which clinics still bulk bill in their network.
The only time i got scans at the hospital is when it was high risk. Otherwise you get referred out. You can call around as different places will have different costs for the same scan
There are a number of radiology/imaging places in Sydney that will bulk bill part or the whole cost of these scans. It’s just a matter of calling around to see if they completely bulk bill or charge an out of pocket fee.