Ika and I were talking about where we were going to have our baby born and her choice is split between 2 private hospitals in Denpasar, Kasih Ibu and Puri Bunda. I have seen the rates for each and they basically have 3 levels of rooms and different rates for natural birth and Caesarian. The top room with Caesarian is around 11m rp.
Ika told me today that for a local its much cheaper at Kasih Ibu. I asked her what local meant and she said Indonesian. I said, Well you are Indonesian too. But you are not, she said. What difference does that make? I asked. If you are with me we get charged the bules prices, she said. I was mad, this is bullshit. Ika told me that she had had a kidney infection a couple of years ago and her boyfriend, who was western, accompanied her to the hospital. She was charged the bules prices because an assumption was made by the staff that he was her boyfriend. Amazing that this kind of nonsense goes on in the 21st century. Talk about backward economy, where someones face, or a supposed relationship can affect price.
I asked Ika how the staff would know we were married if she did not tell them and she insisted that just the fact of us being together would prompt the staff to say, That bule is with you, you are on the bule tab darling.
Living in Indonesia has many benefits for a westerner and I must keep those in mind in these little moments of madness. I am a European and our outlook on life is not always logical either. I can imagine a Fight for your rights American, going nuts in these situations.
I have to face the fact that as far as the government / people are concerned I am never going to get a fair deal in Indonesia, I just have to take advantage of the inherent possibilities and runs rings around them.
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Have Ika pre negotiate the price when you are not around. Then hold them to it after you show up.
Nick,
I think my Mother ij law used to work at Kasih Ibu… She does not work anymore, but Dede recalls her delivering numerous babies in the village at home!!!
When Maddy was ill last time with a throat infection & tonsilitus, we took her to a GP, who charged us about 20,000Rp to take her temp & tell us to give her panadol (which I had already been givin her) as she did not get any better Mum called a Private Paediatric friend of hers & he got the receptionist to make up a Bali resident card (for Medical purposes) for Maddy, we saw him later that day & it cost us 18,000 rp including antibiotics!
I’s agree with Kore, get Ika to have a chat about pricers etc with the Hospital she chooses without you there! See if that works…
Good Luck…
Better yet, have Ika get a quote in writing. Maybe she can go with a male friend who is Balinese to pose as the father, then you sub in the day she is ready to go.
It happens every where, even here in North America. Suppose you have a house in affluent neighbourhood, and ask for a quote for a new driveway, or some other work done around your house.
They see a prestige car on your driveway, don’t you think the contractor will pad his quote a bit, as compared to you living in a 2 bedroom starter house with a beat up VW. (Little comfort I know, but just to illustrate a point.)
High end retail sales people do this all the time, many will not give a customer the time of day, if they look like slobs. But dress up in a suit with a bit of gold jewelry and looking uninterested and bored with everything and they are all over you.
Another option:
poney up and fly ika to darwin
surprise - your son is an australian citizen
he will thank you for the rest of his life.
I know in many hospitals in Indonesia, you would have to pay your medical bill before they can perform the service. Maybe you can give the money to your wife and let her pay the bill in advance. That way she can get the “local” price instead of the “bule” price for the big items.
Thanks Bob,
We’ll give that a try.
Take a look at the Bumrungrad Hospital (in Thailand) website for price comparison. It is a “world class” hospital, many of the MD’s went through their residencies here in the USA. Just a thought. Because she is so small she will very likely need a c-section. Bule babies’ heads are larger than Indonesian babies heads and there is only so much room in the true pelvis for that head to squeeze through. Be sure to pre-negociate that c-section price too. What does the doctor say about the baby’s head size? They do measure the head size at each ultrasound and know how it compares to the local averages.
hi Nick,
For your references and comparison,
in Jakarta c-section price range from 10-20m
but in Solo is half price
why don’t you check Semarang?
They have fix price, no matter what color you are
and may be you can ‘arrange’ your child birth status as you want
Remember that the government supports the hospital in some way - the building, the doctor’s educations costs, etc. Indonesians have been paying for that hospital with their taxes and more all their life. I believe it is OK to charge visitors to a country more for things. Because really, the price is not paying for all the costs.
G’Day Nick,
It stinks yeah!. Price parity is an obvious absurdity in Indo.
Take for instance when I broke my foot. They took one look at me and the dollar alarms went off in the hospital. Fortunately, Candika and Mellie were with me and they bargained the price!.
My cost: Rp1,500,000
The ladies bargaining effort - Rp750,000
That was just the initial consultation!. If you are going to get ill or hurt yourself in Bali then make sure you have insurance.
With regards to Ika, is that Rp11m for the room for teh whole duration of her stay there and include the theatre costs mate?