Fees
Privately insured, self funded and public patients are welcome at North West Private Hospital.
Public patients
North West Private Health is contracted by the Tasmanian Health Service to provide inpatient birthing services in Burnie for public patients, therefore there is no cost to public patients having their baby at the facility.
Privately insured patients
Please check with your private health insurer that your insurance is up to date. The hospital will check on your behalf whether you have an excess or co-payment to pay, or if your level of cover or waiting period excludes you from receiving benefits for some conditions.
It is important that you also check with your private health insurer as co-payments and costs for excluded procedures are your responsibility, and waiting periods apply to maternity care for all health funds. Please remember to notify your fund when your baby is born.
Self-funded and uninsured patients admitting privately
If you do not have health insurance, you will be required to pay the full estimate of your account on or before the day of your admission. Fees for additional or unplanned services are payable on the day of discharge.
Payment plans
North West Private Hospital is pleased to offer prepayment plans for uninsured patients. For more information and an indication of costs, please refer to the maternity patient prepayment form, available at your booking in appointment.
Doctors’ accounts
Accounts from your treating doctor are separate and not usually fully covered by your health fund or Medicare. Please contact your treating doctor directly for estimates and/or to settle these accounts.
If you require an anaesthetist for an epidural or for theatre, the anaesthetist will bill you privately which you can claim through Medicare then your health fund. There will be a gap to pay for any amount over the scheduled fee.
Please note: For some particular procedures and specialists, the Medicare benefits schedule falls well short of the relative value of the procedure as determined by the specialist colleges. You should therefore be aware that there might be a significant difference between your doctor’s fee and the combined Medicare/health fund rebates.
Unless otherwise agreed with your doctor, payment of this gap (out of pocket costs) is your responsibility. You should seek an estimate of your out of pocket costs from your treating doctor (and anaesthetist if applicable) prior to receiving care.
Payment methods
The hospital accepts cash, Mastercard, Visa or EFTPOS. Please note that all credit card transactions will incur a 1.5% surcharge.
Read more about North West Private's fees and accounts and our informed financial consent policy.
