Understanding Your Hospital Birth Options with an OSHC or OVHC Pregnancy Cover

• byBudgetpolicy
• 2025-07-16

Starting a family is a decision that requires a lot of thought and discussion. From assessing all the factors to putting them in place, there is a lot to be done. But once you’ve made up your mind, the first thing you should focus on is ensuring the well-being of your future child. Why not start by getting a pregnancy cover? 
This blog will serve as a guide for you to understand your hospital birth options with a pregnancy cover, especially if you are staying in Australia temporarily, as a student and have an active overseas student health cover or as a visitor with an overseas visitor health cover. Let’s dive in!

What is a Pregnancy Cover?
Just like an OSHC or OVHC covers your medical needs or emergencies, a pregnancy covers pregnancy-related services like obstetrician visits, inpatient care, and birth-related services. If you already have an active basic health insurance plan, you can easily upgrade it to a comprehensive one to add pregnancy coverage. In case you are looking for a plan to cover extras like therapies, massage, etc., you can add them too, at a higher premium. 
The option to upgrade works best for students and visitors who mandatorily have a cover to comply with their visa requirements. For temporary visitors who do not have an OVHC, as it wasn’t mandated for their visa, they can always get a comprehensive OVHC that covers pregnancy.

Know Your Provider
When it comes to choosing a provider for your pregnancy coverage, there are many well-regarded providers. You can consider plans offered by Medibank, Bupa, AHM, Allianz Care, NIB, and AIA. The real task is to choose which provider is best for you. Here’s the drill - Compare quotes of various pregnancy covers offered by these top providers on our platform - Budget Policy. You will not only be able to create a parallel between the prices but also the inclusions. This will give you complete clarity. You already know your needs; you just need to find a cover that fits them. 

Are you just looking to upgrade but feel that the pregnancy cover offered by your current provider isn’t a fit for your pregnancy needs? You can consider switching providers. Most providers allow you to do so. However, you need to make sure that you are well-informed of the terms and conditions involved. 

Considering the Waiting Period
No matter which provider you choose or whether you have bought a fresh plan or upgraded an existing one, you need to serve a 12-month waiting period before claiming benefits of a pregnancy cover. It hence becomes crucial to plan for everything, including getting a cover in advance. Usually, it is advised to get a pregnancy cover at least three months before planning to conceive. 

There’s another nuance to this. Say you got a pregnancy cover three months before conceiving. Unfortunately, your pregnancy is experiencing complications that need immediate attention, or an emergency has led to premature delivery, or any other treatment before the 12-month period is served won’t be covered at all. The waiting period is strictly adhered to with absolutely no exceptions. Consider all of these aspects and plan accordingly. 

Hospital Birth Options
Having a pregnancy cover gives you the autonomy to choose whether you want to avail birth benefits in a public hospital or a private one. All your inpatient services are mostly covered under your plan. However, you should be prepared to incur some out-of-pocket expenses on outpatient services like ultrasound, regular obstetrician/gynaecologist visits, blood tests, etc. Some providers may allow you to add outpatient services as extras at a higher premium. In addition to this, the services covered might vary for each provider. For instance, depending on the level of your cover, Medibank might offer complete or partial coverage of inpatient services at a public or private hospital. You can get Medibank quotes on Budget Policy.

Exploring Inclusions with Medibank’s Pregnancy Cover
Whether you choose a public or a private hospital, you will be a private patient either way. If you have a Medibank OSHC/OVHC pregnancy cover, you can:

Choose your obstetrician. While this is subject to availability in a public hospital, you can easily avail this service if you choose a private hospital.

You can get a private room based on its availability. The chances of getting one are higher in private hospitals.
It is important to note that Medibank will pay you based on your plan. Also, if you want to choose a private hospital, you will have to choose one of the hospitals that are partnering with Medibank. You’d also be liable to pay out-of-pocket for obstetrician visits, anaesthetist, assistant surgeon, hospital excess, and specialist gap fees.

Although the basic cover mostly covers similar services, make sure to carefully check what your provider actually covers.

In case you need any help with comparing and choosing a plan, you can rely on our platform - Budget Policy.