The Health Bureau plans to update Conde S. Januário Hospital charges for antenatal and delivery services for expectant mothers who hold either non-resident status or tourist status, in order to allocate more resources to services for locals.

Antenatal and delivery charges at the Hospital had not been updated in nearly 20 years, said a spokesperson for the Health Bureau – the supervising entity that proposed the updates – at a press conference on Wednesday (28 February).

Expectant mothers holding Macao resident identity card or wives of Macao residents who are not themselves residents will not be subject to the new charges.

The updates to charges covered 20 antenatal care and delivery services. The cost of services for a natural birth at the Conde S. Januário Hospital involving a non-resident worker would rise to 8,775 patacas from 975 patacas, according to the  proposal from the Health Bureau. Deliveries via Caesarean section would be increased to 17,550 patacas from 1,950 patacas.

For tourists (in cases where both parents-to-be are not Macao residents) the charge for a natural birth at the Conde S. Januário Hospital would be increased to 17,550 patacas from 1,950 patacas, according to the proposal. The cost of delivery via Caesarean section would rise to 35,100 patacas from 3,900 patacas.

According to the Health Bureau, there was a total of 3,371 babies born at the Conde S. Januário Hospital in the period 2015 to 2017; 28 percent of them delivered by non-resident women.  Of the 28 percent, 20 percentage points were accounted for by mothers with tourist status, and 8 percentage points by mothers with non-resident status.

The Health Bureau reiterated that the updates were not intended to increase its financial revenues, but to ensure provision of quality services for residents.

The update also took into account the mainland’s “two-child policy”, which might eventually lead to a greater number of women with non-resident or tourist status giving birth in Macao due to the quality of the city’s medical services and the modest charges made for them.