INTERVIEW: 77% of medical-aid babies are now born via c-section which costs up to R42,000 a delivery. A new report by the Council for Medical Schemes found that the rate of c-sections was lower among members on comprehensive plans compared to hospital plans. We’re joined on the line by Mondi Govuzela who is the Senior Researcher at the Council for Medical
The study found that 25% of c-sections to medical scheme members now cost more than R42,400 – compared to the price of a vaginal birth of between R16,900 to R25,400:
The average hospital visit was 67% more expensive for a c-section than for a vaginal delivery - R16,290 versus R27,086, respectively. The cost of medical specialist consultations for a c-section birth was almost 90% as expensive (R9,400 compared to less than R4,900). And the specialist prices are rising by almost 9% a year.
The CMS study found that the rate of c-sections was lower among members on comprehensive plans compared to hospital plans.
Hospital plans are cheaper than comprehensive plans, whose members are older and may have a “higher socioeconomic status (and) higher income levels” and therefore have better information about a c-section delivery, the study found.
But the CMS says that there are likely high levels of “medically unnecessary” c-sections among medical schemes. This is due to many factors, including the high rate of malpractice litigation when things go wrong in natural births. According to one expert, 98% of all legal claims related to obstetrics in South Africa involve vaginal births.
But the CMS also blames the low rate of natural births in part on the “high reimbursement rate” (presumably for hospitals and specialist healthcare providers), who can charge more for c-sections.
The CMS now wants urgent steps to reduce the incidence of c-sections among medical scheme members.
It wants an investigation into alternative mechanisms to finance maternity care, so that “appropriate” incentives are provided to healthcare providers.
