The Pregnancy Management Fee or PMF is a fee charged by all obstetricians for management of a pregnancy which has progressed past 20 weeks.

The official Medicare item number for this is 16590 and is defined as …

“Planning and management of a pregnancy that has progressed beyond 20 weeks provided the fee does not include any amount for the management of the labour and/or delivery, payable once only for any pregnancy that has progressed beyond 20 weeks where the practitioner intends to undertake the delivery for a privately admitted patient, not being a service to which item 16591 applies”

The fee is payable between 20 and 30 weeks of pregnancy.

 It reimburses the obstetrician for providing 24/7 cover and the disruption to their lives this causes, as well as arranging appropriate and equivalent specialist on call cover when they are not available.

Pregnancy and birthing are not Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm processes and require 24/7 coverage. Imagine what a plumber would charge for a 3am call out to fix a leaking pipe ?

I have set my fee at $1500 which I believe is very reasonable compared to other obstetricians in Brisbane. I charge all pregnancy related consultations at the rebate amount, bulk bill midwife consultations and home visits, charge no gap for any in-hospital services and use a pathology company which bulk bills all patients. A certain amount of the PMF can be reimbursed …

• Some private health funds will reimburse you a percentage of the PMF depending on your fund. It may be worthwhile checking with your fund.
•  If you have not reached the Medicare safety net when paying the PMF, you are eligible for a rebate of approximately $310. If you have reached the safety net, you are eligible for a $520 rebate from Medicare.
• If you have incurred more than $2000 in out of pocket medical expenses (after you have claimed back from Medicare or your private fund) in a financial year, you can claim 20% of any amount spent over $2000 as a tax deduction. This can be claimed by the primary income earner.

I am more than happy to answer any questions you may have in regards to this fee.

I offer a 50% discount in this fee to women who have delivered their first baby through my practice and are coming to see me for a subsequent pregnancy.