Portland hospital deposit?

[lynn1]

I'm considering the Portland hospital for my caesarean birth since it will be covered by my insurance (and I was a patient there for 1st birth, happy with it.) I know a deposit is required at the time of booking and wondering if anyone knows what the deposit amounts to? I can't seem to find it in Portland's brochure about costs.

They take £7000 at 32 weeks. Before then you only have to pay the consultants fees (around £2000 for antenatal care up to birth and then what ever the extra dependent on the actual type of birth etc).

HTH

Thanks, that's helpful. My insurance will cover it but it won't be authorised until later, so I imagine that is my upfront cost. Seems like a lot for a deposit. Thank you again.

You will get a confirmation letter when your consultant books you in and it will have the deposit required.

Your insurer should cover the deposit, or more likely, give an authorisation number to the hospital instead. They deal with all the major insurers daily and have a close relationship so they can advise on how they manage it (just call accounts) but there's no way you should be out of picket. I've had 2 deliveries there via 2 different insurers and neither time paid a deposit. They swiped my husband's credit card as I checked in, but that was for incidentals, nothing else.

i think we paid about £2k upfront for our deposit.
First time round we weren't expecting insurance to cover it as a "normal" vaginal birth was planned but for various reasons ended up being an EMCS. Insurance covered everything as a result.

2nd time round, again covered by insurance, which they and us knew in advance, but still paid a similar deposit?

fyi, I spoke to the Portland today and the deposit if you're expecting a normal birth is £7,500, if you have a planned c-section the deposit required is £9,000 and it's due 8 weeks before your due date. Of course, I'm expecting insurance to end up covering it, however that's the money required up-front if we go with that hospital. And we won't know if insurance actually agrees to cover it until right before the birth, as I understand. Which is why a deposit is required in the first place.
Ohcobblers, I'm wondering how you paid £2k. That's great, compared to what I was told. I wonder if there's another way to pay a smaller deposit...
Thanks for your input, all.

When I had my DS 6 years ago I was with the midwife team and back then I paid a £1500 deposit compared to the £7500 i have to pay now. I think the Portland now has different ownership but dont quote me on that.

QT is right an awful lot has changed in 6 years.
Portland costs have really whacked up as have consultants fees due to their insurance costs rocketing.

When I had a breech last time the insurance just paid up with 5 nights no questions asked but nowadays you have a true battle and they only pay a bare minimum. For instance consultants fees vary from £5-7000 and insurance only pay around £700.
As QT says unless you are self paying anyway and any insurance payment is just a bonus make sure you know what you are letting yourself in for.

With a planned CS, 5 nights in hospital and consultants fees we are expecting to pay around £17,000.

Oh my word, that is crazy ajmama! 17k is high, and I'm sure insurance will barely pay any of that if at all.
QTPie, my insurer is BUPA. I'm had 2 conversations with them, but they have not officially authorised the coverage. I've been advised that they will cover a medically necessary c-section and that my case would qualify as medically necessary. I realize that means nothing w/out official authorization. The fact it took 3 weeks for Bupa to authorise for you frightens me. My consultant assures that it normally takes a few days, but I thought sounded suspicious since most insurers don't work quickly.

We have private health cover with pruhealth. However given their past track record with settling payment for other treatment, we have budgeted for paying all of it ourselves and if pruhealth come up with any cash after the inevitable fight then its a bonus.

Its sad state of affairs really. I am starting to lose patience with the private health cover we have been paying for, for over 10 years now.

Oh Lynn, I feel so bad that we are putting a dampner on things for you. Have you had your registration forms from the Portland yet? I did mine yesterdayand they do specifcally ask if your policy is with Bupa. The lady who deals with registration is very helpful so it might be worth giving her a call. Also have a chat with your consultants secretary as they are used to dealing with these companies and it could be that this consultant has a good relationship with them. The impression I get these days is that these insurers hope you will get fed up with dealing with them and just give up. Hang on in there!

QTPie, this is the kind of scenario I'm afraid of. I cannot believe you had to fight until April to get reimbursed from Januray. And the amount of explaining and re-explaining you had to do- this to me sounds like a (sadly) typical experience when trying to get insurers to pay for something they are reluctant to pay for. It's almost as if they want you to give up because it's too much effort!
My consultant assures me he deals with Bupa all the time and he'd have no problem getting approval late in the pregnancy. He also said that to ask Bupa for approval early (26 wks) would simply give them more time to find a reason not to cover a "medically necessary" c/s. So he recommends that he wait until 36 weeks. I'm on edge about this because after we pay a huge deposit to the Portland, I doubt I'd be able to get that back if I had to cancel. And if Bupa didn't approve, we really cannot pay for it entirely on our own.
Granted, there is 1,000 in consultants' fees & some of the anesthetist fees that will still be mine to pay as well as the ped. check in the hospital, which Bupa has explained to me they don't cover. I thought after speaking to them 2x, I'd gotten a clear understanding of their limits in coverage, but I hardly trust them now I've heard such awful stories.
AJmama, it's ok to hear the negative side- I'd rather be prepared for reality or for the worst in case. I haven't got the registrations forms yet. I will have a chat with the Portland registration when I do just to double check on things. Bupa claims they completely cover 4 nights in the hospital after surgery, but I need to be sure. It's true my consultant claims he deals with Bupa all the time and he knows the way it works. He claims to have a good relationship with them and I have no reason to doubt him (I've used him before and he came highly recommended to me). But it doesn't mean there won't be a glitch and the frustrating thing is, it seems I'll be waiting until the last weeks to know for sure.

OP the later posts have made me check my files and i'm talking nonsense!! sorry i didn't pay £2k - no idea why i had that figure in my head, must have been wishful thinking!

With DC1 it was £4.5k deposit for expected vaginal birth which we got back as Bupa paid for EMCS. I paid the deposit a month before due date.

With DC2 it was £5k for expected ELCS payable 2 months prior to due date. Got this back from the Portland within a month as Bupa again paid due to various issues.

HTH

OhCobblers, thanks for that info. Sounds like you got reimbursed rather promptly, and that's good to hear. Certainly hope it works that way for me.

yes, pretty promptly compared to some of these postings! however, i did have to put in quite a few calls to the Portland's Accounts Dept!

Can I ask what health insurance you have and with what company?

Hi there can I ask who your health insurance is with and how it’s covered?

@Tryingtohaveababy this thread is 15 years old. not many insurance will cover it anymore. the only one from the uk i am aware of is Bupa international which will likely cost more than the maternity care (obv depending on your personal circumstances)