I was recently informed by our HR department that I could pick up my SSS check that was my one and only monetary maternity benefit. Now as I understand maternity leave here, it means I don’t get paid while I’m gone and that our company HMO will not pay for any pregnancy related illnesses. Thus if anything happens to me that is pregnancy related, I have to dig into my own pocket or hubby’s for the cash to pay for it. Imagine my disappointment when I saw that the check they gave me would barely cover two days in the hospital. That’s not counting the doctor’s professional fee and assuming it is a normal delivery.
In my other post I was debating over where to give birth. I was deciding between Cardinal Santos hospital and the Medical City. I was really leaning towards Medical City since I was so impressed with their customer service. The place is also quite new and it looks like it adheres to some international medical standard. I also liked the birthing suite. In Cardinal Santos, they had just finished renovating so it was moderately ok as well. However the way the staff treated us during our impromptu tour at Medical City was unmatched.
My hubby told me his friend whose wife recently gave birth spent over P100K at the Medical City for 3 days and it was a normal delivery. Supposedly the room they stayed in was a standard room but the incidental expenses made their bill balloon to that amount. I immediately flashed back to the prices of Medical City where the birthing suite is billed on a daily basis and the starting day rate was 25k! That’s not counting the professional fee pa and the incremental stuff. Sigh as much as it seems I would love to give birth at Medical City, it seems Cardinal Santos is a better deal.
I don’t think it will be too different since hubby and I both have relatives who work there so most likely the staff will be alerted to that and hopefully treat us nicer. Sigh, it was really a shock to see that I’d have to live on that SSS check and my savings until I get back to work. It’s a good thing hubby and I have some savings to soften this blow to our pockets.
