FWIW, I just tallied up the bills from our recent arrival. From the moment my wife went into labor to the moment we left the hospital (with a non-complicated, simple delivery) the cost was $16,188. We did have a luxury ($400 for a private room) but that was the only real ‘optional’ expense we had (and yes, insurance paid almost all of that).

NEGOTIATE your labor costs BEFORE you get there! I have heard story after story of this-go to the hospitals you want and negotiate. You will have no power to do so after the baby comes-so do it before. I know a friend who had a a labor and delivery for $5k which should have cost $25k b/c they negotiated before and paid cash.

I don’t know guys, where all these insane prices come from. I did have a c-section which was my own choice, and $9,000 I’ve mentioned was for that. Not sure perhaps I have a some kind of better insurance since my hubby works in non-profit organization or it varies state to state. I am in Florida. But $50,000-$60,000 is INSANE. Only rich and famous can afford a luxury of having a kid. It maked my blood boil. Do they pull these prices out of their a**???

Yes, midwives are MUCH cheaper. Check out the awesome documentary Ricki Lake did last year called “The buisness of being born” about how deplorable the birth conditions really are in the us (biggest infant mortality in the WORLD!!!) Really interesting take as Ricki Lake had a hospital birth and a natural midwife home birth.

http://www.thebusinessofbeingborn.com/

Yes, we are getting a discount for being a cash customer. We actually just have to pay monthly, so when we start having to go weekly and bi-weekly, it won’t cost each time. Whew!

I live in Canada and everything is free! Unless you want a private room or various upgrades, but even then it’s only about $200 a day for that, and most insurance companies will cover it. In Canada most procedures (other than cosmetic ones) are free, and most people have medical and dental insurance on top of that through their jobs or a private insurance company. Come here to have the baby…I bet you’d be covered! Have you thought about a homebirth? That would cut costs quite a bit.

These costs are insane. I’m sure you have but I’ll suggest it anyways…private HMO insurance? I know each state is different but because I’m self employed I had to purchase my own. The insurance company had two policies, 1) you buy it before you’re pregnant it’s a 90/10 plan. 2) you buy it after you’re pregnant it’s a 50/50 plan.

We were in the VERY same situation… well, not in Texas, but still pregnant with NO insurance and didn’t qualify for any medicaid. It’s true what others have said about negotiating BEFORE you get to the hospital. We started calling all the hospitals in our city, there are 3 good ones, and they were all the same way. If we set it up with them as cash patients, they have a basic cost for a normal delivery… it covers prenatal visits as well, and can sometimes cost as low as $3000!!! Check it out. Call all the hospitals around and find out what kind of cash based options they have for prenatal and delivery. Hope it helps!

~Tabitha~

freshmommyblog.com

Oh my, I CANNOT believe how much it costs to have a baby in the US! Everyone moans about the NHS in the UK but we don’t have to pay a penny (unless one chooses to go private).

When will your offspring be picked up for coverage by your insurance? When my daughter was born, any charges she incurred while I was in the hospital went on my bill. Once I checked out, she incurred her own charges.

The reason I ask…my daughter needed 24 days of NICU and Special Care Nursery. Her bill (nothing for the delivery or the first two days) was over $62,000. If your kiddo needs additional care, will your insurance be cover the babe? Or will he be eligible for something like CHIPS (methinks that is the TX Uninsured Children’s Insurance…)?

I don’t know enough about insurance to know the answers, but something to consider.

Best wishes!

From my earlier comment, it appears that Texas CHIP offers perinatal coverage.

From http://www.chipmedicaid.com/english/cover.htm#perinatal

Texas residents who are pregnant, uninsured and not able to get Medicaid may be able to get CHIP perinatal benefits. Coverage starts before the child is born and lasts 12 months from the date the unborn child is enrolled. Benefits include:

Up to 20 prenatal visits.
Prescription drug coverage based on the current CHIP formulary.
Hospital facility charges and professional services charges related to labor with delivery only. Preterm labor that does not result in a birth and false labor are not covered benefits.
Two postpartum visits for the mother.
Regular checkups, vaccines and prescriptions for the baby.
A full list of benefits is available at http://www.hhsc.state.tx.us/chip/perinatal/index.htm.

Love your story because it hit home only we did have maternity insurance. I was paying $180 per month extra on our health insurance because I knew we were having kids. I was also self employed. After my son was born I started receiving bills that insurance would not pay. When I called them they explained the the maternity coverage only included the mother and not the baby. Since he was healthy, all the bills incurred from the moment of birth I had to pay. So even when you think you have coverage it could end up costing quite a bit. Good luck and thanks for sharing your story.

Same situation here-I am glad to see someone else trying to come up with total cost figures! With 2 individual policies, dh and I have -0- maternity coverage available to me and am ineligible for any government programs, deductibility, or tax credits to offset the lack of available insurance (for me, the cost of adding a maternity rider to my policy was as much as it has been saving & paying cash but we’ll see… maybe not!).

The business manager at my ob’s office has given me some good budgeting information and advise, most of which is mentioned above. She also informed me that the practice uses several different labs for the blood work. One they have found to be considerably less expensive than the rest; so I am to request P A Labs for the labwork and to pay them directly-I haven’t calculated the savings on this yet versus using one of the higher cost labs.

Overall, here is what I have come up with as a pre-pay/cash patient – that is, so far, as of March 2009…OB care & delivery 2700 + outside lab 1500 + first trimester screening and blood fingerstick/genetics 522 + drs. ultrasound 1296 + 2 day normal hospital stay & delivery with no complications, given a vaginal birth with at least 30 days pre-payment negotiated 4900 (c-section to add approximately 300 more, hmm sounds low-need to check on this #) + hospital circumsiscion 400 + anesthesiologist 1200. let’s see that’s 12518-12818, and so I round up to 15000 to be conservative and to get used to the large numbers, but hopefully that’s not just a minimum!

Somewhat to my relief, I was told that my individual policy (4000 annual premium 1000 ded.) should kick in if there would be complications, possibly also covering a c-section birth and much more. While I do not want a c-section unless it is medically necessary, it might be a negotiating point with your ob, if that would kick-in your regular insurance policy coverage, saving money. I was told that I have 30 days to add the baby on to my policy. I am going to research this further as to what’s covered. I am trying to compile strive for a natural water birth for the crazy experience and keep pain/labor inducing costs down. I think midwives are a good option unless the pregnancy is considered higher risk due to older age or other or even comfort level.

So to avoid getting too worked up over the seeming injustice here for a hardworking someone who pays a 4000 annual premium/1000 deductible for a “good” insurance plan that has been minimally claimed upon, I have recalculted it all in my mind as actual

On the business side, you might also look into establishing an Employee Medical Expense Plan which I think – if you meet certain requirements (and very importantly without excluding other eligible employees from the same plan opportunity, based on number of hours worked?) would allow you some reimbursement for expenses not covered by your policy (I think the maximum reimbursed amount per year is 5000)/pre-tax. Sorry I don’t have any definitive information here as I am still trying to learn about options to make expenses more reasonable. I look forward to checking in again here for updated estimates and of course the final tally.
hmmm…maybe there should be a Baby Bailout Plan

Wow – this makes me want to review my insurance claim forms to see what mine actually costs. I didn’t realize until this very moment how blessed I am to have insurance… *feels a little guilty, strangely enough*

Okay, I see now why she won’t choose a midwife. I can understand that completely – I loved my OB and would have been heartbroken to go to someone else. I also saw that you pay monthly regardless of how often you go, so that doesn’t work either. =(

Does your doctor apply any of that payment towards the birth at all? Some do…especially if paying cash!

Same boat, with an increased sinking feeling!

Though I’ve just found a birthing center which will carry out all prenatal, and delivery for 4530…. there maybe hope… maybe?!!!

I think the key here is out-of-hospital births are just going to be cheaper. And generally, you’re going to get a better quality of care going with an out-of-hospital midwife &/or birth center.

The thing to remember about hospitals – all of their protocol is set up to manage sick and injured people. Most healthy laboring women and their babies are NOT sick and injured – but when they walk into a hospital to give birth, they are walking into protocol that wasn’t really designed with them in mind. And – laboring women tend to get to the hospital before their OBs do. You’re going to be subjected to the hospital’s protocol once you get there, regardless of what you and your OB may have worked out beforehand. so it’s terribly important to know what the hospitals policies are before you get there to deliver.

Good luck!

Ok another question (and feel free to email me if I forget to check back cause I’m really curious about this) why doesn’t your health insurance cover it? If you have health insurance isn’t that what it’s for? Maybe I’m confused and there’s a “maternity section” under a health insurance policy that people need to try to have ?

I stated before about my job covering 100% (it’s a huge company with a TON of employees nationwide) that’s including maternity costs (I have a friend who just had a baby with complications and the NICU bill was like $60K but she didn’t have to pay anything but her $150 deductible). How come it’s different for you?

Oh, and I’ve heard of “extra” maternity insurance you can buy beforehand. It’s like $100 or $200 a month or something but you get like $7000 after you deliver the baby. Is that what you’re talking about?

Sorry, I’m just really confused about why health insurance wouldn’t cover a pregnancy.

Jenn – Sorry I’m replying so late to your comment, I think I overlooked it! Oops.

I’m not sure how it works for people who work for an employer, as far as health insurance & maternity, but since Tarzan and I are both self-employed, our health insurance only covers doctors visits and other health-related things. For some reason it does not cover maternity insurance… that is something that we would have had to get extra, before getting pregnant. Pregnancy is a completely different thing.

It’s unfortunate bc you would think that it would be logical to just include it in regular insurance, but that’s not the case. I think we would have had to pay about $700 extra for maternity insurance and that is if we were actually ‘trying’ to get pregnant. As you know, this pregnancy was a surprise. After finding out you are pregnant, there is no insurance out there that will provide you with insurance. I *think* that pregnancy is considered a ‘pre-existing condition’.

It’s really just all messed up, but at least we are done paying for it all. (Keeping fingers crossed that everything goes smoothly with no complications for me or for him.)

Dana – I agree with you and that’s actually what we did for everything. Unlike your hospital though, we had to pay our hospital the money upfront at least 1 month in advance to my due date. If for some reason we were not able to pay the cash upfront, there is nothing that they would have done after the fact. Such a sucky situation to be in if you can’t afford to pay it all upfront. Can’t imagine having $30K in bills sitting in my house.

Hi,
Might be too late for this…but I think the HIPAA laws state that pregnancy CANNOT be considered a pre-existing condition, IF you were covered under SOME creditable insurance at the time of conception (even if maternity wasn’t covered)…for example, I’m 27 weeks pregnant and I’m switching from school insurance to my husband’s insurance in another month…because I was covered under an insurance policy at the time of conception, I’m automatically covered under his insurance, pregnancy and all. You two have already paid for everything, but maybe for other readers, do you think if you had purchased independent insurance that covered maternity, that that law may have worked for you? Check out this link: http://www.dol.gov/ebsa/faqs/faq_consumer_hipaa.html

Just be glad Jane isn’t on hospital bed rest for 2 weeks. I am positively dreading this bill since our previous hour in L&D triage cost $1200 and they didn’t even do anything!

By the way, I’m also seeing a perinatologist in addition to my regular OB. I didn’t know I was high risk until after I saw my OB and determined that I have a fibroid. Plus being “advanced maternal age” makes me high risk as well.

I know many people have suggested home births/midwives to me. But as I work in health care, I have seen too many complications that occurred with midwives, and then had to go to C-section. I figured, why pay double. If you’re healthy and vertex, midwives are fine. But for those who are unlucky enough to be breech, oh well!

You did better than me and I have maternity coverage (theoretically). Event though I made sure to get private maternity coverage and that my OB was covered, I’ve discovered that the hospital he has admitting privileges is not in the network. The out-of-network deductible is $10K to go on top of my $5K in network I’ll pay to the doctor. PLus, I’ve been told the insurance co. will likely determine everything above $10K from the hospital will be unreasonable so they won’t pay anything above that either (which it will likely be (cesarean), but the hospital said they can’t give me a cost ahead of time and thats something to work out after the fact, so much for negotiating…).

So in the end I’ll likely be paying over $20K (who really knows?), plus the thousands of dollars of worthless insurance premiums. At least you didn’t waste your money on insurance.

Just stumbled onto your blog and think it’s great that you’re showing the costs of your birth. It’s truly crazy. I have a 17 month old who we JUST paid off – I actually have pretty good insurance but he was a preemie who came via emergency c-section and had to go to the NICU for 5 days so our out of pocket was almost $11,000…but would’ve been $67,000 without insurance!!! Ay yay yay. Looks like you’re doing everything you can to negotiate lower costs, I just wish it wasn’t such a full time job and the two of you could spend more time and energy preparing for your wee one’s arrival!

All the best, keep up the good work! Oh, and you’re funny. I like that. – e

Wow this is incredible. I’m Australian, and although I don’t have private health insurance, our government footed the bill for the entire pregnancy, labour and delivery. Recently our PM went public warning that our public healthcare system is at risk of being demolished, and I was angry and upset. Now I’m really freakin out! In a first world country it’s just ridiculous that you’re paying nearly a k for an ultrasound. I hope Obama reads your letter!

It’s such a terrible hardship to face when we’re in that “middle” ground. We also were in a similar predicament when we had our first child. We had insurance through my husbands work but it was CRAP! So not only were we paying for insurance that covered next to nothing (so we weren’t eligible for the discounted price you received) but we also had to pay what you paid! We planned a vaginal delivery but nature didn’t agree and my daughter ended up being an emergency c-section! I’m hoping to have paid off the medical bills in the next 2 months right before she turns 2! With my first child nearing two years old and we’re expecting our second child in 3 weeks, luckily I now am covered by my work insurance which is fantabulous. We haven’t had to pay a penny and we’re paying LESS for this insurance than we did with the first. Then you compare that with my SIL who was on medical assistance because she had been a drug addict, lost her job and home and spent mandatory time in counseling who had her baby a few months after me and she didn’t pay a red cent for her! Outrageous! It’s like they want people to be on assistance. The only consolation I have is you can deduct ALL of those medical bills from your taxes this year. It’s not alot but it’s something.

From the second I went into the hospital the day my daughter was born till when we left the hospital a week later, the bill was $35,000. Just for that week, not prenatal or anything. I think the total for everything was about $45,000. Medicaid paid for everything, so we didn’t have to worry, or I would have had a cow!

OMG I’m so with Amy from Australia! I’m in New Zealand and am having a “high risk” pregnancy. In NZ this translates to: hospital obstetric visits as often as you need them (in my case it was monthly from 5wks, then fortnightly and now we’re over 30 weeks we’re down to weekly – and we’re going perfectly well with no hiccups!), home visits in the weekends from midwifes, medications that probably cost the earth (well I think they do in the US from what I’ve read), the elective c-section, any care that baby may need in NICU…. and 6 weeks of home visits afterwards… and our biggest medical bill to date has been $3 for low dose aspirin! We do pay a tax rate of up to 33% depending on income here… which we do (oh yes, these medical services aren’t income tested – they’re based on that ridiculous concept of NEED), but we don’t have the added grief of fighting medical costs when we’ve got enough going on. Tarzan – ditch TX and move the tribe Down Under!!!

i am 27 weeks now and so glad hubby and i moved to puerto rico. everything here is very affordable. we have insurance, but i have to manually submit claims so we pay upfront for everything and then get reimbursed. All of my prenatal care up until delivery time (doc visits every 3 weeks, sonograms every time in office) costs $500 total. i had an extra sonogram done today by a radiology clinic at the request of my doc costing only $100. all of my lab work and blood tests have been about $100 also. i am unsure about the hospital and delivery costs, but I imagine they will be much lower than in the states. I really like my doctor and feel as if the care here is the same, if not better than the states. It is frustrating sometimes, to file the insurance claims myself and to wait long hours for doctor visits and lab work. But if for some reason we leave PR and baby #2 is in my future, i will be coming back here to have affordable healthcare!!

Wow!

I don’t want to appear ignorant, but I had absolutely no idea how much is actually costs to have a baby! Here in New Zealand the state picks up the tab and I am now all the more appreciative of the fist class service that we get from our healthcare professionals. Sadly my wife has now miscarried twice at the 12 week mark, but we have picked ourselves up and will soon be trying again…

Fantastic site, I love the concept. You guys are truly one of a kind!

You are luck you didn’t have a c-section! Mine was unplanned (26 hours of labor and only 5 cm dilated – pair that with a distressed baby and they are rushing you off to the OR (I even had a doula and a mid-wife!). My hospital bills were well over $35,000 – but luckily, I did have insurance to cover it – thank god!!

Good thing darling Jane didn’t end up with a C-section: my hospital stay came to (deep breath), $37,500. Luckily I was insured, but what the heck would anyone do who wasn’t??

I had a baby vaginally 3 weeks ago. Induced Labor + Epidural.

Total Costs
OB:$2500, pre negotiated, (including pre visits)
Morristown Memorial Hospital NJ (everything including blood work): Mother+Baby $$4800 (billed as per “Medicaid Rates”
Anesthisia Doc: $1300
Grand Total of 8600
Negotiated everything before.

I know it’s already been said but midwifes are way cheaper.

The cost of a home birth with a midwife costs about $2000, roughly, without insurance here in oklahoma city. Plus, research shows that the infant mortality rate is the same as with a hospital birth, with a lower incidence of complications during labor. Just saying. If you have no insurance and little funds. This is a great option. Or if you have great insurance and lots of funds, still a great option.

Wow. Late night Googling “34 weeks pregnant” and I somehow ended up here. Gosh I honestly did not know that the whole prenatal care, labs, & etc cost that much. I mean I knew it was expensive but I don’t know anyone who has had to pay for all of it. You see…we are a military family & I grew up a Navy brat so I’m used to almost everything being covered. I am really in shock at your total cost! Well I really hope all is well!

A website for Cassie, who thinks the British Health care is better. I was under British Health Care also, where I came from Honk Kong, before HK went back to China, it was pretty much British system. I can tell you, I did not like it. It is cheap, but the service is lousy. The waiting time is long. Anyone that has money did opt for the private hospital.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1209034/The-babies-born-hospital-corridors-Bed-shortage-forces-4-000-mothers-birth-lifts-offices-hospital-toilets.html

I do not believe in everything they said, but I think it is a problem. Some people may get better care than others, much like it is here.

I am wishing you a nice and easy pregnancy. And hoping you have all your medical bills under control, which I will be doing in a few months.

but no matter what my boy is here and healthy so its all worth it

To Jen,

Maybe my view is a little skewed since I have many family members in Medicine. From Surgeon, primary care physician, Physician assistant, nurse, technicians, and EMT are all part of my clan. If you think the doctors are charging a lot, sure, they do, just like any lawyers that worth their pennies will charge you hundreds of dollars for an hour, or Accountants who charge you thousands of dollars to prepare your taxes, all professionals services are expensive, so Doctors should not be singled out as a punching bag, that is just my view. Not that I am referring to all of the professional services that charge a lot, there are lawyers who don’t charge a lot, or accountants that will do your taxes for 50 dollars. But human nature, you always want the best service, whether it is justified or not.

Also, considering this: A doctor, any doctor that is board certified, do you understand how many years of training they must have? 4 years of undergrads, 4 years of medical school, and 4 to 6 years of post graduate school training. If they decided to go for any further specializing, that is at least another year of fellowship. 4 years of undergrads cost about $50,000.00 to $200,000.00, depends on public or private, in or out of state college, then, the 4 years of medical school, that is another $150,000.00 to $300,000.00 of tuitions and living expense. That is a total of ranging from $200,000.00 to $500,000.00 of schooling, before they can be residence doctor—-doctors in training. They worked about 96 to 120 hours a week in training years. (I think now there are laws prohibit the abuse of residence time) They have no life during these years. They are on call pretty much every week. Yes, they do get paid for these intern years, but the pay is not that high, somewhere around 50k to 65K a year, break down by the hours, they probably make less than the minimum wage. And their student loans repayment usually kick in around that time.

Now, after all that is done, if you are a family care physician, you get paid around 90k to 120K a year. That is not a lot of money in any metropolitan area, like in NYC, or Boston, or San Francisco. The specialist and surgeons get pay more. However, they stay in training longer than the internist also. A young surgeon get paid around 150K a year to start. They do not really start to make money until they are at least 3 years into their practice, if they are lucky. That is about 200K a year.

Now, that may sounds like a lot of money, true, however, please do not forget that they are now also responsible for their mal-practice insurance, also the nagging student loans. This insurance is also one of the reason why they charge more, a young, no lawsuit surgeon is charged 30K a year, just for the insurance. As they get older, and done more surgery, the premium goes up, because there are bound to have people that is looking for a quick buck that sue the doctors. Now, the older and more established doctors sometimes must pay 100k+ per year for mal-practice insurance. That is why there are shortage of doctors in a lot of areas, especially the small towns in America. Do you know how many doctors we import from other countries that brain drained these developing countries?

I don’t mean to offend anyone. I also understand the frustration, when I first move to US, for 10 years, I have no health insurance. I paid for all my doctor visits myself. And usually, the doctors are pretty reasonable with their charge if I alerted them that I have no insurance and am paying for it myself. My father had a heartattack during that period, we went to the clinic, and they send us to the hospital right away. He was treated, and we did got a bill of $12,000.00, We negotiated with the hospital, and make payments in installments. Our bill was $3,600.00 and we are allowed 1 year to pay for it. That was many many years ago. I think the fact is, there are too many people just abandon their responsibility to pay for the services. Then, for the people and insurance company that actually paid, are picking up the tabs for the non-paying people. That is why our cost is so high. I have no problem helping people out when they are in need, but, I would like people to be responsible for their own health also.

Jen, that is negligence on the MD part of it. He/She should have been there, or, one of his/her colleague MD should have been there on pre-arrangement, in case her/she is on vacation or on emergency call. He/She has no excuse for not being there. That violates their Hippocratic oath…that every medical student took before they start training.

BTW, I earned my International Trade and Marketing Degree, and owes no one anything, because I worked and pay for it at the same time. So, it is not true that everyone have a degree must have a student loan. Some are lucky to have parents paid for it, some like me, without loan, but takes many years to finish. It is a personal choice. The difference is, you can’t do that with professional school, especially the medical school

I understand your point of expense of college and training, so, I think you understand the fee they charge also, since this is an elective service, most people swear by the mid-wife service also, why not opt for the mid-wife service instead?

My point is, it is an essential service, and because you are willing for pay for it, you are charged. I am sure those people who goes to a hospital, popped out a child or two, have no intention of paying for the service, so, you, and I are liable to pay for their services too.

Not that I am trying to offend you, I just think that if you think a little further, it is a lot more than meets the eyes. I agreed the health care service in America needs major improvement, however, so far, from living in Hong Kong, to Canada, to America, I preferred the American way. I also lived in Canada for multiple years, I am not that fond of their health care either.

Weren’t the ultrasound, circumcision and epidural optional expenses that could have saved you @ $2500. Did you consider a midwife or a public health clinic that charges sliding fee scale. Texas has those and the caliber of the doc is the same. Same MCAT, same grad requirements, same Step exams , same licensing requirement.

Birthing at home alone is also an option freebirth.com, especailly when healthy!

I know these are now mute points but maybe they will help one of your readers.

CONGRATS on a helthy baby boy!

Wow, the disparity of how much it cost for each person is amazing! I have a “high deductible” insurance and so far some things are pretty expensive (like I know my first visit cost over $500 because I saw the claim on my insurance website, but I’m waiting till I get the official bill, because I’m not sure if that’s the final total I’ll owe).

I’ve been keeping a spreadsheet of every single expense and also savings (such as no birth control) so I can see what the true cost of it is to me. This blog has inspired me to keep a separate page on my baby blog so other people can see the expenses as well.

Well, I just found out that I am extremely high risk. I am under the care of the OB, and my unborn child is under the care of a Perinatologist. Because of the connection and my insurance, my OB is not charging me anything for all my visit(even the co-pay), and he made it possible for me to go see him on Sat, so I do not have to take time out of work. Now, since I am high risk, I was send to a Perinatologist. The perinatal care is very expensive. Every visit is about $2,200.00 to $2,400.00, my insurance only cover 80% of it, and I know already I have about 10 to 12 appointments at the very least. You can figure out how much it is going to cost me.

All my lab works are covered by my insurance also. Including the genetic testing. I know this is very expensive, however, perinatologist for me is essential, so, I will gladly pay for it. This is what I am trying to convey, for normal pregnancy, and if you have decent coverage, the baby should not cost that much. I know I will have to add my baby to my insurance coverage, and I must work with my human resource specialist for the coverage. Therefore, this is something that is all about planning. For Tarzan and Jane, their baby was not expected, so, they scramble through it. But for most people that are intended to become parents, it is your responsibility to plan ahead of time and make sure you have proper coverage.

Revision on the Medical Mal-Practice Insurance. I found out that a young and new surgeon actually pay around $100,00.00 a year for the damn insurance(Long Island New York). Where do you think this money must come from? The paying patients like you and me.

So, I think it is high time to reform this mal-practice law suits and insurance. We are all paying for a few big payout.

You know, that is what I love about England. As soon as I am pregnant, I don’t have to pay a penny. All doctors appointments are free, me deciding wheter to have a natural / water or birth with drugs is free. During the time I’m pregnant, I get free medical prescriptions and dental treatment (which stops a year after birth). I get given fruit and veg vouchers while im pregnant to keep me health. Plus about 7 hundred british pounds to help towards buying baby stuff. When the baby is born i also get given 250 pounds to go into a bank account which gets given to my baby and is not released until my baby is 18 years of age.
I feel sorry for those abroad, I tend to cuss this country but i must admit in terms of medical care for pregnant women we have it all clued up.

hello everyone,
seems like there’s alot of good advice on here so i thought I would ask for some.
I currently have BCBS of florida blue option, on an individual plan.(self employed)
My husband and I recently moved to TN, and lucky for us we have to re- apply for new insurance in TN. Ive been researching what is best to do on getting maternity coverage (a rider) or continue saving and pay out of pocket. my understanding is that you can negotiate a good deal and regualar Health coverage will cover a portion of office visits and hospital stay. i dot know what to do. i dont want to wait 10 more months before i can get pregnant!

Hello Everyone,
I am reading this blog from Canada, and I am SHOCKED to say the least! Here, everyone pays a monthly amount to our Medical Services Plan, according to how much money you make the monthly amount is lower or higher, for a family, the maximum you would spend is $128 monthly, and some families pay $0. This monthly payment covers everything, doctors appointments, blood work, ultrasounds, hospital stays and drugs used at the hospital. In the end when you bring your baby home, you have no bill! I am not trying to rub this in, I am just saying, our system for the most part, really works. Everyone’s basic medical needs are met. Write your local congressman to tell them how you feel your medical system can change. Good luck!

I just had a c section last month in Vegas on November 3rd and we stayed at the hospital till the 6th. We only had to pay $4000 for everything if we paid them all before I left the hospital. If we left without paying the whole thing, it could escalate to $10000-$15000.

I am Planning to labour my seconed son in USA by caeserean surgery. I am outside USA and have no insurance . Pls. if u know cheap hospital send me mail and how much does it cost me ?

@ Dots

This is true we pay a lot of money in taxes I was in a £2000 pound job a month and they taxed me £500 or more each month. The VAT added to good etc is a joke. I don’t drive so I take public transport which can cost up to £60 a month depending on what area’s i visit in London. I recently got made unemployed through the major redundancies happening.
We complain about the Medical system here because not enough money is being pumped into our health system. Nurses and doctors are under paid and over worked.

Though if I was working, I would still be getting free medical care, dental care, and money for a savings plan, no matter what my financial situation is. It shocks me to know that this is not something that happens in the state. As well as having to pay for keeping and looking after your child you have to pay for being pregnant!!!!

My head still can’t around it. Before I got pregnant, I planned to move out of England as I didn’t like the way things are being run here, but it seems every country has it’s advantages and disadvantages and me getting pregnant made me appreciate this place.

Though the schooling system here is nothing to boast about, so maybe me leaving is a possibility after all.

oh and @dots… taxes here and the cost of living is nothing like Europe before you get on your high horse. We have differnt tax brackets for different income earners which are more then fair. Our economy is amongest the strongest in the world at the moment. So much so that we have had three interest rate raises in the past three months, unemployment rates are low and our dollar is only a few cents off the US dollar, expected to exceed it in the new year. Safe to say we avoided the recession altogether. Im stating this because I think your response to firsttimer was a bit arrogant. Maybe rather then getting defensive you should be a bit open minded as to what else might work to fix the problem? But hearing you say you want to keep as much of your money as you can and not have it go towards benefitting your community explains alot. Its this attitude that allows the rich to get richer and the poor to get poorer. Its not about putting the US down its about stating facts. Public health care should be available to EVERYONE despite income, do you not agree? Its not a third world country. Thats what it sounds like to others from the outside looking in, im sorry to say. May I ask of all those taxes paid.. how much do you think we are getting back? As you can see its $10,000 to have a baby alone, plus the cost of doctors appointments, schools, university, roads, community services such as librarys, the money received to help raise your child, water, rubbish collection and disposal, legal system support, unemployment for those who loose their jobs, conservation, our government buys all senior students a laptop, text book for studies etc etc…. its about everyone including every child having the best start and quality of life possible despite how much they or their parents make.. Oh and my son already has a trust account accumulating savings for his future (& his only due today) which I dont know if we could of afforded to do if I had just paid 10K in medical fees… yes taxes are frustrating at times but wouldnt change it for the world.

@Michelle, I did not intend to offend anyone, nor am I being arrogant about the US. US is currently in bad shape, and I do not believe government mandate is the answer. The lousy politicians, the egalitarianism get us into this trouble, it is not going to get us out of it.
What is wrong with keeping as much as I made to myself, when I get up every morning at 6:00 am to go to work and come home at 7:30 PM? Tracking in the snow an ice when I am 6 months pregnant, so I can provide a little better quality of life for my family is arrogant? I am still going to school to try to better myself, so I will continue to be marketable, why does that explains who I am just because I want to keep more of what I earn? That is not selfish as you see it. I probably pay more taxes than some of the people make in a year, I pay my fair share of taxes, and yes, I am in the high income group. I pay over 45% in taxes, federal income tax, state income tax, medicare taxes, City taxes, social security tax, plus the property taxes, school taxes, county taxes, sales taxes, and automobile taxes. Being Christian also make me give generously to local and national charity with reputation. So, if you think I am not paying my fair share of the taxes, you are mistaken. If you judge me by the few sentenses, how arrogant are you to think that just because I make a decent amount of money and already paid a heavy chuck of my income to Uncle Sam that I should be scold.

There are people in this country that absolutely suck the country dry. I am not oppose to helping people down on hard time, and there are plenty of those, but I have a problem when people sit on the fat bottom and whine about their welfare checks. Never even think about going to work and expected everything be handed to them, from housing, transportation, welfare, medical care, food stamps and down to the nitty gritty of condoms for free. Why is this okay in your eyes? If I have to pay for the services, why should some be exempt? I never get the benefit from US, never went to free school here in the US, always pay my way through school, I never even collected one red penny for unemployment since I moved to the States, and always pay for my medical care until I can afford insurance. Why is it evil that I expect other people to do the same?

Basic Health care is available to EVERYONE regardless of income or status in the United States. If you think the poor are being left out in the cold and died on the street, that is not correct. They are being cared for, maybe not with caviar and champaign, but definitely livable.

my gosh…..im scared to go the doctor now and ask what they say about the costs…..Im not sure if im pregant or not yet, though i hope so, i dont think my husband and i are ready to pay that much money out of pocket, so this was a good conversaion site to get an idea what we should do and look for when the time comes. Its somewhat hard since im most likley alot younger and just starting out in the working world, though i hope looking around goes just as well too.

and i hope everything works out for you guys, its not fair what we have to go through to bring life into the world, but we all know we would do anything to have that life happy and healthy until they move out and have one of their own.

Sounds like your insurance companies run the show up there in the US…

Sure – the cost of a medical degree is expensive, but that pales by comparison to the insurance an obstetrician has to pay every single year!

It’s outrageous!

Last time we had a baby, we were PAID $5,000 by the Australian government (and all the checks appointments etc were free).

Oh – I almost forgot – we had to buy a pregancy test. And have a doctors visit, which we got 80% refunded – thanks to the system. Sure beats mortgaging the house!

Our US buddies could not believe it.

that must have sucked to pay for that . well hope the kids are good

There is a difference between getting free health care and finding the best cardiologist

if you can afford to go out of country to the best doctor for whatever reason go for it.

Hi -
We live in Los Angeles, California….if you live in California..check out the AIM program from the government.

@ Dots
because the American Health Care is the best in the world, But you PAY for it!!
Free Canada HealthCare gets you an overworked doctor from Pakistan.

I am Candian and moving to Texas and am trying to figure out healthCare. So far you get good health care, you just have to pay for good insurance.

@Jenn,

I know what you are talking about, I lived in Canada for 5 years, enough time to make a personal judgement on the system.

My comment was a sarcastic rebuttal on some of the other people’s comments. I am not saying US medical system is the best, but it is definitely one of the best, and I agree, you will pay for it. Especially if other people are just mooching off of the Americans. Like Drug reimportation, why is the same drugs cheaper in Canada than in US, because of the stupid congress of US let it happen. The drug company will sell to anyone with large enough quantity, but they protected themselves by charging american’s and American’s insurance company for the full price while other countries are paying 1/3 of the what we are paying for. I think Americans are done subsidizing others, let everyone pay their fair price of the medical procedure and drugs, then we will see who’s system is better.

I’m an American living in Mexico. If my insurance wasn’t so good (they cover everything but $100, I got lucky), I was going to have the baby here instead of driving into San Diego. Uncomplicated births can cost as low as $350, and it goes up to up a private high tech hospital on the ocean for around 2k (probably less right now). The doctors are JUST AS GOOD, there is LOTS of medical tourism here. Don’t bankrupt yourself because you fear a foreign country- with a little research, you would be shocked to find out how good and cheap delivery can be elsewhere. And NO YOU’RE NOT GONNA GET KIDNAPPED, unless you are a drug dealer you are FINE here- I know I LIVE here as a gringo with zero ability to speak Spanish (so far).

I’ve had one medical bankruptcy, I don’t need another (motorcycle accident while uninsured) The costs in the US are TOTALLY NUTS!

If it makes you feel any better, I did have insurance and it had the same outcome. I couldn’t afford the lowest deductible, which was going to be a cost of $675 per month, so I opted for the deductible of $5000 which cost me $300 per month. At the end of the day, even after reading the policy, I am paying $9000 out of pocket for the birth of my son. They did not pay for 2 tests that were suggested by my Doctor. They had some way of weaseling out of applying them towards the “maternity” portion of my insurance and applied it to my personal major medical. They said that it was a complication so it had to be applied that way. I asked them what complication did they know of that my Doctor and I didn’t? Their answer…my age. Apparently if you are over the age of 32 your age is a complication. I asked them why it was applied to Major medical and not maternity seeing as I was “pregnant” and wouldn’t have needed the tests otherwise, and was told that any “complication” was dealt with that way. So, at the end of the day, I ended up paying more than if I had not had insurance. I would have been better off as I would have been able to negotiate with the hospital and Doctor since my husband lost his job when I was 6 months pregnant. I am in a commission only job and clearly didn’t work around labor time. I tried for assistance and was told we made too much! How, I don’t know, since P’s unemployment was only $1800 a month and I had only brought in $5000 ytd (it was April). Over all the price we had to pay and the frustration of trying to figure out what is what and who got paid and what the portion was applied for deductible, and discounts…..is mind boggling, angering and over all the most frustrating thing I have ever encountered.

I’m glad I came across this site!! I live in the Houston area and in the same situation. Self-employed, have insurance but no maternity and to add to that, we are having to go through IVF because my DH has cystic fibrosis and we can’t conceive “naturally”. IVF is NOT covered by insurance and is probably going to run between $12-15K so add that to the cost of a routine prenatal and delivery pregnancy and we are talking $30K plus JUST TO HAVE A BABY never mind the costs to take care of the baby. Sad that you have to deal with all of this just to have a baby and some people who really want a child end up not doing it for this very reason. You have the “Octomom” who has like 14 kids all through IVF and she has no job. CRAZY!!!!

That is realy amazing at how much it cost for a baby without insurance.
Also i am doing a baby project in school which relates to this. Having no insurance and leaving in my parents house. (it is very fun and life learning)

Great Blog and responses! It is crazy and scary to read about this. I had my first child Feb 09 in DC and all was paid by husband’s work insurance BCBS (25k+ for delivery and hospital stay alone, vaginal no complications) including my zofran meds (30 a pill!) for the entire pregnancy due to extreme morning sickness. Both my husband and I were employed and both got unexpectedly laid off recently. We do have a small business but barely make enough to cover insurance so we are not sure what to do as we do want to grow our family.

We had COBRA for a while but it was 1200 a month so no more of that! Now we want to get pregnant again and thought about getting independent insurance with the maternity rider or paid out of pocket but since we do not want to wait 12 months we are going to go for paying out of pocket and having the kid in Mexico!

I was born in Mexico (and most of my friends and family had their kids here) and the care is VERY good! Total cost for delivery will be around 4k and my doctor’s visits are 400 pesos! (under 40 bucks). Ultrasound was 700 pesos (around 65 bucks).

I wish everyone had access to the best health insurance and that doctors did not have to pay a fortune for going to med school! I do agree that the US has the huge issue with the lawsuit costs and free riders. Unfortunately, other countries with great national health care systems are also kind of broke (or having some issues recently), so I guess it is all pretty complicated. Lets hope those of you in countries like Canada, Oz, NZ, UK, etc. keep this awesome service!

Good luck to everyone and I will second the comment about giving another country a try. I recommend Mexico (you can register your child as American after the birth at the consulate if you are a US citizen)!

PS. NICU and no insurance scares the heck out of me!

Well i got an A on my baby project thanks to this website.

We are going in tomorrow, a c-section. No maternity insurance. I’m a small business owner, made a lot for the economy, employed other people. Things started going down-hill, budget cuts at large contracts. So, credit cards are maxed out, cash spent, almost ready to pack up and go to the hospital. I have no idea what’s next.

hi, i’m 28, a married mum of 1, a registered nurse and student midwife in the UK.

i have been curious for a while as to what having a baby in the US costs with ultrasounds, blood tests etc. i was expecting to find out it was around $4-5000!! can hardly believe it runs into tens of thousands in some states! that’s madness! how on earth does anyone afford to have a family?

i’m interested in knowing more about the US healthcare system; is health insurance something you usually have to pay for?, like car insurance or does it come with your job? i’ve read some of the blogs above and i can see that if you’re self-employed you’re pretty much screwed, which brings me onto my next question…

…i have been watching ‘16 and pregnant’ on mtv the past few months and how do these girls afford all these costs?

in the UK we get one ‘dating’ scan at 9-12 weeks and a second ‘abnormality screen’ scan at 20 weeks. We pay National Insurance and pay extra for scan pictures, guaranteed private rooms and car parking at the hospital but that’s about it! and we moan about it! ha!

…my wife and I are expecting next January and we’re hoping to have a natural birth at a birthing center in Florida at a cost of $4200 (without additional expenses, hopefully not required!). Even though I have insurance I was unable to add my wife and we were denied receiving Medicaid so I’m currently doing research to see if there’s any other financial aid out there? (Hence finding this site!) We feel very fortunate that we recently learned of these birthing centers as we believe that most people are unaware of that they even exist and that it’s an option that is open to them. Like the majority of things nowadays, unfortunately the bottom line is money! Having babies is a money making business like any other and these large medical corporations like to keep the general public ill informed of the ways that baby’s (in our opinion) should be born, naturally! Whatever happens to our financial situation, our little treasure is on his or her way so we’ll find a way to pay for the birth some how or some way! Good luck to everyone whatever your situation!

This blog has really been helpful, 31 weeks gone and yet to decide where and when to see a OB or doctor, or perhaps to opt for personal midwife/ home birth which will save me thousands of dollars. I really hope to make up my mind soon.
@ Jane and Tarzan; how is your boy doing now?

We are self employed too, and we have been thinking of having a baby but we were quite afraid of the uncontrollable costs related to maternity. However, I noticed that many of my Hispanic neighbors who simply work as dishwashers in restaurant or even recyclers (those who scavenged the dumpsters) can have 3 or 4 kids each. I wonder how they could afford the cost?
I heard they did not pay at all? I personally would like to know how that works.

My Final Bill for having a baby at my advance age, with high risk care, with great insurance coverage, my final bill is $3,573.00. My Perinatologist did not charge me extra other than the $50.00 co-pay, my insurance company paid out $32,000+ for my Perinatologist. My hospital stay for me is $500.00, my baby’s hospital stay is $773.00. My insurance pick up the tab at $25,000.00+

So, my final tab with lab work and ultra-sound and 3-d imaging, is $60,000.00+ for me to have my baby, but I paid a small amount of the bill because of my insurance.

Now, you may said that is a lot for my insurance company to pay out, however, I have work and rarely use any medical services for last 10 years, so, it balanced out in the end. Since my employers paid a good portion of my coverage.

TO MARINA TANG,
Why would you want to come to US to have your baby? So, you baby can have a US citizenship? Singapore have a relatively advance and good health care, why would you want to come to US to begin with anyway?
The bill is high, as some of the contributors already provided. If you are looking to have a baby in US hospital, you are looking at something like $25,000.00+ just for the hospital stay for you and baby.
Now, before your delivery date, you need a place to stay, and after your baby, you need a place to stay. Put these cost into your budget too. Then, how long you plan to stay in US? You will have to fly back to Singapore, and that is somewhere about 12 hours flight, why on earth would you put your baby through this?? Just for the citizenship? My suggestion is, don’t do it, save the money you will spend and put it through your baby’s education, and he/she can come to US at his/her own time. It is a much better investment than just being born here.

So I haven’t read through all of the comments (there are a lot!), and I know I’m a little late getting here because baby Tarzan has already been born, but here are some things I have encountered so far:
First off, my husband and I have been married for just over 4 years, so I don’t qualify for the ’single mom gets everything paid for’ thing. I have honestly had friends who had their kids BEFORE getting married so they wouldn’t have to pay the crazy bills, but my husband and I didn’t want to do it that way.
My husband is also self-employed, so we have come across a lot of the same things. We do have regular, high-deductible health insurance (no maternity coverage) that still costs an arm and a leg, but the only benefit it provides is that in case of complications, both the baby and I are covered (following all of the stipulations they have…). I worked for a while at a house cleaning company that offered insurance, but 1)it actually cost even more than our self-acquired insurance, and 2)the rules were a little crazy. I had to continue my employment up until at most 1 month before delivery and then go back to work within 3 weeks of delivering, otherwise any and all benefits paid up to that point had to be paid back. Seriously. I didn’t make enough there to make it worth it after what daycare would cost, and it is tough work to be expected to do that late into a pregnancy and that soon after a delivery. Disqualified.
(Sorry this is so long!) We had actually looked into adding maternity coverage to our insurance plan. I shopped around for a while, only to find that unless you are covered under a group policy (getting benefits at work), there are only 3, count them, 3 companies that even OFFER maternity insurance. They hold the cards, and therefore the cost is ridiculous. We would have to have the addition to the policy for a minimum of 12 months before we were allowed to get pregnant, otherwise it was terms for automatic disqualification. It was an additional $200/month on top of what we already pay, plus the basic coverage we could afford allowed for a $2500 deductible per person (one for me, one for the baby) per calendar year, and then they would only pay 80% of costs after that on covered procedures, which honestly doesn’t include everything. We are very, very excited to have our baby, but the baby is due on January 8th, which means that unless he or she comes early, we would get to spend the whole year meeting the deductible for me with doctor visits and blood tests, and then right at the beginning of the year meeting it all over again for the delivery. Our hospital gave us a breakdown of what everything should cost for a normal delivery and the doctor visits beforehand (no epidural included, that adds another $2k), right around $8k-$10k, which is honestly how much we would end up paying anyway, with the insurance. And if our insurance will already pay for complications, what’s the point of adding the maternity coverage?
As for midwives and homebirths, I commend you all who do it that way. I may have considered having a midwife at the hospital, but my uncle is a certified doctor and he and his wife decided on a homebirth. Her blood pressure fell to very dangerous levels and they almost lost her on the way to the ER, even with a full fledged doctor overseeing things. You just never know what can happen, and with this being our first baby, we won’t take any chances on the way my body or the baby will react. Anyway, here’s hoping that we figure something out, or that the hospital is willing to work with us on payments, because I agree, it’s allllllll screwed up

…some great comments from Jenilee! I think that one of the problems (and I could be a million miles away from the facts?) is that the whole baby “business” is so interwoven with the pharmaceutical/medical/insurance companies and there’s so much money to be made from ill-informed parents that people are literally scammed into unnecessary procedures and “hidden” costs! It’s a shame that there’s always going to be people out there who abuse the system and makes it harder for the everyday, genuine people who need some financial assistance. I believe women are kept in the dark about other options such as birthing centers and are brainwashed by the media that having a baby naturally is something that “those” people do! What have women done for centuries? Information is the key to making an educated decision on the birth of our children, and who controls that information? You only have to look at the TV ads! Every other commercial is telling the pacified public that they “need” a drug to cure everything under the sun! It’s an absolute scandal! I hope that more and more people find web sites such as this one and have the common sense to try and research and ask questions about every little detail! Good luck to all!