Private midwives should be able to order 12 seperate tests funded by the MBS for women during antenatal care, including non-invasive prenatal testing, growth scans and HbA1c, says a Medicare Review Taskforce committee.

The draft plan is designed to improve efficiency, with the task force’s expert midwife group arguing it is a waste of time and money for women to be sent back to their GP for diagnostic and screening tests to be ordered.