Without Insurance Prenatal Medical Conditions Risk Going Undiagnosed

In recent weeks the Chinese University of Hong Kong revealed the successful development of a new test designed to detect a dangerous pregnancy condition; preterm pre-eclampsia. Under current healthcare protocols in Hong Kong only a quarter of women who are high-risk for developing preterm pre-eclampsia are diagnosed.

The condition is defined as “high-risk” for pregnancies, and can lead to death of both the mother and the fetus, but does not display any overt symptoms for expectant mothers meaning that it can often go undetected and undiagnosed, leading to severe mortality threats for both mother and child.

There are current tests to diagnose the condition within Hong Kong’s public healthcare system, but this is only about 26 percent accurate in all cases – the new test developed by the Chinese University has a 46 percent success rate in diagnosing preterm pre-eclampsia.

While the news of the development should be welcomed, the cost of HK$2,800 and the low detection rates mean that the costs associated with the correct diagnosis of preterm pre-eclampsia can be high. In reality multiple tests may be required to avoid false-negatives with as many as three tests needed to completely rule out the condition in expectant mothers, for a total cost of HK$ 8,400.

Pre-Natal Healthcare is Important

While Hong Kong’s public healthcare system is excellent in most regards, it does have its limits. Pre-natal maternity appointments are generally only given 3 to 4 times prior to a birth for low risk pregnancies, and only mandatory minimum levels of care are provided.

An individual who is utilizing the public healthcare system is likely doing so because of the costs involved – government run hospitals and clinics do not break the bank. However, there are oversights and mistakes (as the litany of medical malpractice claims over the last 2 years has shown), which can cause significant harm to consumers of the system.

The contrast to this is that private OBGYNs and maternity clinics are extremely rigorous, often to their detriment, performing extensive testing and analysis at bi-weekly prenatal checkup appointments. However, there is a significant cost associated with these services; often in the range of 10’s of thousands of dollars before the baby is born.

Pre-natal healthcare, as seen by the development of the new preterm pre-eclampsia test, can literally be a life-or-death situation; using standard practices at government run facilities means that you may not get the full care or attention you deserve, but choosing to go to a private maternity clinic can be prohibitively expensive (especially if you are paying for these services out of pocket).

But there is a middle ground.

Maternity Insurance is an investment in your child’s future

While the cost of an average maternity insurance plan is usually in the region of US$5,000 per year (depending on the mother’s age and the policy in question), and the fact that you will normally need to have been enrolled for a complete policy year before being able to receive the full benefits offered by the coverage, the peace-of-mind a parent receives knowing that they are being fully protected against medical risks in their pregnancy is invaluable.

A routine vaginal delivery of a child at a facility like the Matilda Hospital can easily reach HK$150,000 with costs spiraling in excess of HK$200,000 in the event that there are any complications with the pregnancy. This is ignoring any prenatal or postnatal healthcare mother and child will receive, and is simply the bare costs of actually giving birth.

As mentioned previously, in the case of preterm pre-eclampsia multiple tests may be required to fully rule out this condition. In the event that the condition is diagnosed, further costly healthcare treatment will be required for the mother to assist with either the viability or termination of the pregnancy – no matter whether through the private or public healthcare systems.

With a Hong Kong Maternity Insurance plan, parents are given the security of comprehensive medical protection no matter what happens during the course of the pregnancy. From congenital birth defects through to emergency maternity treatment, both mother and child are given the best possible options possible in the event of any medical conditions being diagnosed.

Free Maternity Insurance Quotes

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