Homebirth midwife payment - Berlin

I am planning a homebirth and my midwife says that all is covered with our private insurance except a 300E fee for her to be "on-call" during the weeks near my due date.

Has anyone had a similar request for such a payment? I wasn't suspicious until she asked for it in cash.

Would be a good idea to contact your insurance company and ask them.

So you say homebirth but I am curious is she working with a group of hebames or does she work solo? What exact phrase in german did she call it?

we paid it due to her being the one actually delivering our son. You get a receipt and everything. If you dont want her to deliver then dont pay. We deceided not to have her and save the money for my son, until my wifes waters broke at which point we realised that the trust she had built was worth more than the fee. I can tell you as well that that was the best decision we ever made, labour was 22 hours and the midwife earned every penny, without her my wife may have killed someone

Hi Saraz,

I had a homebirth and had to pay an 'on call' fee of 200 Euro which I couldn't claim on my insurance. I'm not sure if this is entirely correct or not but I've been told it's the norm because insurance companies aren't willing to pay this fee when there's an alternative of going into a hospital night or day at no additional cost. I think 200 Euro is a reasonable fee for a midwife to ask for but 300 Euro seems a bit steep. I wonder who calculates the fee and what it's based on?

Melanie

Congrats on the birth!

300 seems a lot...one way to get something back however is to claim 40 hours for a cleaner and cook. Not everyone seem to know this...homebirths and Geburtshaus births entitle you to a full week's cleaning and cooking from a nanny service. Make a deal with the nanny and spread the work out over a couple of months...they dont tell you are entitled unless you apply for it...

It is normal since she is on call 24/7 but I already sent you the PM about that.

This charge is normal, but I think the fee can vary between midwives. My girlfriend is a midwife and she is setting up a birthing house (Geburtshaus) in Bad Tolz. For a 5 week period (3 weeks before due date and 2 weeks after) she has to commit to staying within 1 hour distance of the birthing house, and obviously being sober so that she can drive and do her job. She will be charging 250 euros which is her fee to guarantee that she will be available and you won't find yourself needing to go to the hospital instead.

My girlfriend has always told me that she can't have a life while she is a midwife, and I am now learning why. Perhaps you can consider this fee as a payment/compensation for not being able to have a life, and only being able to have a drink when you are not on a 5 week standby period. The insurance doesn't cover this charge, and is in affect the cost you will pay for having a home delivery or a birthing house delivery.

If you have a hospital delivery, you would be seen by the midwife that is on call that day. A birthing house delivery is a halfway between a hospital delivery and a home-birth, and you will choose your midwife before the delivery and already have an established relationship.

Hi.
Usually this fee is not included in the "Gebührenverordnung" of the midwives, so insurance companies don´t pay it(or- in the past- said they cannot cover it even if they wanted). However, some have changed their view on a birth at home or in a Geburtshaus(I am unsure if the laws have changed or the new health reform is responsible), so for example they will pay this fee up to 250€(I only know about one that will pay it- the Securvita).

I wouldn't be suspicious about her asking for cash as long as she gives you a receipt.

I wouldn't complain in the slightest as you would pay 300 for a pram. The job these people do is vital to the mother and little one's well being in the first important hours of it's arrival.
People today seem to know the price of everything and the value of nothing.

Apart from that what happens if they end up with a double booking so to say?

Yes we paid about that for both our kids' births. I always thought they were probably covering some of their other costs with that on-call fee but since they did a fantastic job and provide services a doctor would never even consider it seemed super, double cheap.

Quit being a cynic and start enjoying what is going to be the coolest change in yer life.

Apparently more insurance companies are starting to cover this fee, because a home delivery or birthing house delivery is much cheaper for the insurance company than a hospital delivery.

As for a double booking at the birthing house, my girlfriend will only accept a few deliveries each month to minimise this risk. There is plenty of other work for her to do each month, such as pre-natel classes, house visits, baby massage classes etc. For each delivery in a birthing house there needs to be 2 people present for insurance purposes. My girlfriend will therefore have a 2nd midewife present, so should there be a double delivery, then this can be accomodated.

My original post was some time ago. The baby is here! And the birth went well. Of course, I think midwives are worth the 300E - I'm just not that familiar with how things work here, and I didn't have the best relationship with my midwife. She was competent, but I have to say my US midwife that I had for my first child was much more attentive and had more experience. The way things are in the states though I had to pay for most of her services out of pocket. That cost $1500 and was definitely worth it. I'm so glad German insurance accepts homebirths - at least everything except the on call fee. It's a better system overall.

You get what you pay for I suppose Saraz.