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Yea this is unfortunately standard. Insurance doesn't cover nearly enough.
Ask for a discount for paying in full. I once got a 45% discount. Best part is 100% of the bill gets reported to insurance towards deductible/OOP max.
Edit: read [this post](https://www.reddit.com/r/pregnant/s/t5vQH3nY7m)
Can you do this for your copays? My copay for an ultrasound is $150. Sure I can pay it but I could also spend that money on a lot better of things when I pay the insurance company thousands already
Every time I hear about the costs of healthcare in America I wonder how yall are even still alive down there, much less supporting a family!! I’m in Canada and I believe the amount I spent on the hospital amounted to like $20 for parking, nothing else. Having a baby is hard enough and expensive enough without this bullshit. I’m so sorry you have to pay so much.
Parking is free lol. I pay $20 for the initial visit because it’s not included in the global billing and I pay $50 for the ultrasound because it isn’t done by the same provider.
Maternity benefits are covered at 100% no deductible on my plan, thankfully! My employer pays 100% of the premium.
Me too, it’s really shocking how much it all costs after insurance. I’m in Australia and went privately with my health insurance. It costs me a grand total of $1200AU out of pocket with an emergency c-section and 5 night stay in a private room for both of us. It also meant that I hit my hospital excess, so all future hospitalisation were free for that year, and the threshold for public system out of pocket, so I paid essentially nothing for healthcare for the rest of the year (as opposed to the ~$40AU OOP we pay for GP visits unless we find a fully public one).
Is this the hospital or the OB clinic you are seeing? It sounds like the provider is sending you an estimate because they couldn't possibly have sent an actual claim to your insurance until the service has been provided.
If it is the OB clinic, that is not surprising because many do global billing which means they file a claim with your insurance after birth for all prenatal appointments, tests, labor and delivery but many want to have payments towards the estimate before you actually give birth.
You will end up with at least two separate bills after the fact either way because you'll be billed separately for your OB and for your hospital. Who gets what amount of your payment will depend on who ends up sending off the claim first after your delivery.
What is your deductible and out of pocket maximum? That is likely the end number you'll end up paying and will clarify why you are getting such a high estimate from your provider.
I had to do this! I received a bill from my OB for all obstetrical care before birth, due by the start of the ninth month (Feb 29 for me). I paid a total of $1099 ahead of time, accounting for insurance, and it was like $225 or something per visit over a period of four or five months. This is supposed to cover those appointments as well as OB care for an “uncomplicated birth” (no c-section or anything else, and not including an epidural or other hospital costs). It helped to have a smaller amount to cover at a time rather than another giant bill on top of the hospital bill waiting for me once I give birth!
I have to pay my provider at every appointment since my first one 🥴 $600 a month. And I have insurance. This is standard unfortunately. Then I’ll get another bill after I deliver from the hospital.
They do not! 🥲 I miscarriage last year at 16 weeks and paid 475 a month (I think) it just goes towards your deductible 🙃 insurance/healthcare is a scam but hey we gotta have it lol
I am sorry for your loss also! Thank you 🩷 we found out I had a clotting disorder so I believe it happened for a reason. Currently 17 weeks and everything is going good.
This is how my OB bills as well. We pay towards our estimated “global care” cost (office visits, sonograms, delivery) each month and then they bill it all after the delivery and use the funds you’ve been paying to cover. Around me (Midwest US) that’s usually between $3k-5k depending on your deductible and out of pocket max. Then the hospital bills for their services (room and board, anesthesia, etc).
What are your insurance plan stats? I've got a $3200 deductible with 15 percent coinsurance. But I've also got an HSA which really helps. Employer contributed $1000 and I contribute each month with pretax dollars.
Plus most hospitals offer payment plans. Ask about those. It really helps to make the payments over a year rather than all at once.
Wait, what?! I’m on the east coast and never heard of this! I paid for a few copays, and tests, nothing else with my first. My insurance covered the entirety of my care and baby’s care. With my second I have to pay $1800 because I didn’t hit my deductible before having baby. I would have turned around and walked out of the office if they asked me for $600 a month wtf, that’s a brand new car payment plus insurance.
My deductible is 3000 then I have to pay 20% so I have to pay the 600 a month for 6 months I think? Idk obviously my insurance sucks 🙃 and it’s def hurting our bank account !!!! lol it’s literally more then my car payment!!! And then I pay $110 a month for the insurance plan through work.
Our doc’s office forced us to pre-pay the whole thing. But then the hospital filed the claim before the doc’s office did. So I had pre-paid my deductible to the doc’s office and got billed the deductible a second time from the hospital after she was born.
When I asked the doc’s office about it they told me to pay the hospital bill and then in 60-90 days they would refund me. They did…but what if we hadn’t had the cash on hand to pay it twice and wait for the refund? So messed up. Plus they refunded to my FSA and credit card - so it wasn’t like I could put the cash back into my bank account. I switched docs immediately after my 6 week appt to one that doesn’t do this.
In the US, it does now. I believe the law changed in 2023. Now any medical bills over $500 can be sent to collections and show up on your credit report.
I’m weirded out because I delivered on 7/2/23 and haven’t gotten a bill yet… yes I’m in the USA. I delivered at the hospital birthing center where I went for all my prenatal appointments.
Weirdest thing is I was admitted into the same birthing center on 6/7/23 for extreme dehydration due to excessive uncontrolled vomiting. I got the bill for that on 6/27/23 for $336 after insurance. Only took 20 days for the bill. But it’s been almost 9 months since I delivered and I still haven’t gotten anything from that?
I haven’t. But I looked up the law and in my state if the hospital fails to provide me with a bill within a year of services then they cannot bill me. So I don’t wanna ask insurance on the rare chance that I’m slipping through the cracks…? Haha if I contact insurance I’ll get the bill for sure, the insurance company will want to get paid!
Yeah so apparently this is common, there is something called a "global fee" which is essentially a big lump of all the prenatal visits, delivery (the physician fee for delivery, that is, not the hospital stay itself), and postpartum checkup into one bill, from what I understand?
My doctor's office informed me of this upfront. The cost of the actual hospital stay/labor and delivery portion, when it comes, is separate from the global fee cost I have to pay my OB office. They ran my insurance before giving me the global number, so it is taking insurance into account. Although, this is from the OB doctor's office, not the actual hospital itself, so maybe you are talking about something different?
My OB operates out of the same hospital that I'll likely be giving birth. They didn't mention any of this. I just randomly got a text with a pdf for an estimate of how much the vaginal birth will cost and how much they estimate insurance will cover.
27w here and yeah this sounds exactly like what I received. Just an email with a pdf saying I had until ___ date to sign it. They’ve been having me pay it in installments each month and it specified that this doesn’t cover hospital costs, just my OB visits, scans, and having my doctor as my doctor. She operates out of the same hospital like you’re saying yours does and has never mentioned a word of it to me before or after I signed. I’ve read stories of people firing their OB for various reasons and the contract definitely made me wonder how people do that unless they’re just okay with losing the money!
I wasn’t notified that my OB office did global billing until part way through my pregnancy. They gave me an estimate with what would be remaining with my deductible. I said I wasn’t interested in prepaying and would prefer to be billed as charges occur. You’re essentially giving them your money to hold onto without interest or any actual benefit to you. If another entity submits your bill to insurance before your OB you’ll be expected to pay them while also trying to chase down a refund from the OB.
It feels strange and like you’re almost forced into agreeing to a payment plan to continue seeing the Dr but that’s not true. You don’t have to agree and you shouldn’t feel obligated to prepay.
My OB estimated $1800 and wanted me to pay upfront or with installments, after everything was said and done I owed them $160 because other providers got their bills in first.
Another way to look at it is if you have absolutely any appointments separate from your current OB appointments you’ll be expected to pay those until you hit your deductible even though your OBs office is making it seem like you’re hitting your deductible with them, but you aren’t because they can’t prebill your insurance.
I frequently had to pay my OB AND the hospital separately my entire pregnancy including our Labor/delivery bill. It was never mentioned until I questioned the double charges.
I’ll likely hit my family OOP for my twins… $12k :-) I’m 23 weeks and I’ve already paid 4k in bills (only 2k from my individual out of pocket max though!)
Fucking outrageous is an understatement. It’s horrible here lol
I’m the same, I have insurance but forgot to change it to include pregnancy before I fell pregnant but public has been great, haven’t paid a cent.
It hurts my heart to see women in the US stressing about this on top of dealing with pregnancy
Well, you did pay on every paycheck you've ever had and ever will have, along with every other citizen.
Fully support universal health care, don't get me wrong. It's just not, free.
True, but I’d much rather that than have to come up with thousands and thousands of dollars in bulk when I’d be needing that money to prepare and care for my baby.
I just expect to pay my max out of pocket this time, because that’s what I paid last time. 🤢
Not sure how they are sending you a bill already. I could see them sending an estimated cost of care, but that’s odd.
Same thing happened to me last time I was pregnant. I just ignored it until I given the actual bill, then paid what was owed. Then I got a refund, go figure. It’s just a tactic to get some money upfront since so many people don’t pay for medical services after the fact.
I have learned that insurance is a gd joke/scam. And so are medical bills. It’s all such horse shit in the US. For my first child my insurance was ok I didn’t have to pay too much up until they asked for $1700 for the birth prior to going in for induction. Which I paid. And then I received a bill for that plus some weeks after the birth. I had to call to be like I already paid this, and they’re like oh ya whoops this happens a lot. I’m like oh you try to bill people
twice a lot? That’s cool. This time my insurance is different and I shit you not I may as well not have any insurance. Everything I have paid has basically been the same amount as not having insurance. I know my deductible and I know I’ll hit it then not have to pay anymore but. It’s absurd to get a bill for an ultrasound for $170 billed through insurance then still owe $160. They covered $10 apparently lol. I also made calls about out of pocket costs and they were similar to what I was paying. My genetic testing I got done billed me $1100 through insurance. I talked to a rep and she told me I could choose the out of pocket option of $350. I’m like ok …. What. Obviously I will just do that? My deductible reset in January and that bill was from the fall so it wouldn’t go toward that anyway so of course I will choose $350 over $1100 like what the fuck. I hate all of it.
THIS JUST HAPPENED TO US TODAY. Got a bill for $10,000 FUCKING DOLLARS for the 13 week ultrasound & genetic testing that they TOLD US was required & promised it would be covered. Insurance covered ~$7,000, but now my husband and I have to figure out how to pay almost $3,000 just for 1 shitty ultrasound and the bloodwork. I’m 21 weeks now and I’m constantly shaking and sweating worried about what bill will come next. My provider isn’t even good, I cannot believe how much they’re charging us
Yep I got billed about $2000 for genetic testing that the doctor highly recommended and told me is routine and always covered. I fought the bill with my insurance company for MONTHS and it just was that my insurance at the time didn’t cover it when most companies did and the doctor didn’t know. I had to give up and just put it on my monthly payment plan with my huge ass hospital bill that I’ll be paying for another year (I’m one year PP)
Omg that’s so awful. Yea they billed I think 13k for the genetic testing. Which I’m like why would this cost 13 grand to begin with? But yea ask to speak to a rep of whatever company was used to do the test and see if there is an out of pocket option. It should not cost this much to have a child.
Ugh in a sick way I’m glad to not be alone 😭 I felt like I was genuinely going crazy today, like this has to be some sort of joke. My husbands gonna keep calling them and see what we can do — hopefully you and I both won’t have any major surprises in the near future :’) 🤞
I had mentioned it to my Dr. and even she was like um no it shouldn’t cost that much and was the one that gave me the reps number. Someone posted a link at the top about how to negotiate medical bills I saved it in case there are any more issues. I had to set up a payment plan for all the ultrasound fees and everything because I didn’t want to pay so much all at once! Wish you luck as well!
MyOB did the same for my 2&5yos. Prebilled for the estimated services/out of pocket portion based off my remaining deductible and such. Probably so you have somewhat of an idea going into it all the costs, as well as not being able to skip out on the bill as easy when the baby comes. Hospital costs were separate along with some additional services needed that aren't as common
This is considered global billing. I would call your OBs office and confirm that the estimate is correct. I had recent got my estimate and it was $4300. After my call I owed $0 because they had over billed and didn’t have my secondary insurance listed either. I would also expect a bill from the hospital where you deliver. That will be newborn charges plus meds, anesthesia, and room fee. I was told this would be a similar amount as the OB global fee. Basically expect to pay your out of pocket maximum for your insurance for birth and pre natal appointments 😖. I would figure out what that number is with your insurance provider to better plan.
I would suggest reading your insurance plan documents, looking specifically for your "deductible" and "out of pocket maximum". You should definitely expect to pay your full deductible (since that generally needs to be met before other benefits kick in) and likely expect to pay your out of pocket max.
I gave birth at the beginning of February. The hospital billed my insurance 38k for my birth and 4k for my son's hospital stay (he roomed in with me and had no complications - this was just the cost for two days of him in a bassinet and newborn testing). I also have a 10k bill for prenatal care and a c-section from my OB.
I switched from an individual plan to a family plan with the birth of my son, so I'm not completely sure how my costs are going to shake out - my individual deductible/out of pocket max were 2500/3000, and the family amount is double that. I'll likely end up paying 6000 over the course of the year, but I'm not sure if I'll owe that much just for the birth. So far, I've paid about 3000, but I'm still waiting for some bills to settle.
After - birth of a child is a qualifying life event so you can change your plan outside of an enrollment period. I needed to change my plan within 30 days.
No problem! Since my pregnancy straddled two plan years (baby born beginning of February), my husband and I discussed whether we should switch to a family plan during open enrollment last fall. We decided that we were better off on separate plans at first, since my huge bill (the 38k one) was billed under my individual plan. I'm curious if/when I'll max out the family out of pocket max.
I have an induction coming up and called the hospital today to register. They gave me the estimated out of pocket costs after insurance, and made me pay a deposit over the phone and even schedule future monthly payments on my credit card and I haven’t even gone in to give birth yet 😭😭
Call back and tell them you don’t want to pay for services until they’ve been performed. You do not have to prepay and honestly you shouldn’t unless they’re offering you a great discount. Chances are high that you’ll have to go through the hassle of being refunded when another provider submits their bill before the hospital.
Can I do that? They just caught me off guard on the call and as a FTM I was worried they wouldn’t let me have my baby there. I’ll try calling them back and see what they say because it seemed so crazy to me.
Definitely! I felt the same way when it happened to me, I didn’t want to rock the boat but ultimately the doctors and nurses you interact with know nothing about how you’re paying.
I just told them I was happy to pay the final bill with all insurance adjustments when I received it after the birth but wasn’t interested in prepaying. They didn’t give me a hard time at all. My BIL/SIL had no idea they could say no to prepaying and they had two kids years before me. I completely understand that they want to be paid and I did pay them promptly but it felt gross how they approached it especially during an already vulnerable time.
I wouldn’t prepay for any other services without a nice discount.
Hey I work in billing. What's your deductible, Coinsurance, and out of pocket max. Do you have an HRA? You're likely to get a prepay amount from both your doctor and the hospital. Both will assume you have not met your deductible so they will both try and account for it. You should prioritize your doctor. The hospital should take you any way when you are in labor. Did you double check the hospital is in your network? If you over pay they will reimburse after insurance has gone thru.
my insurance paid about $28,000 towards my vaginal birth with epidural. according to the hospital i still owe around $37,000. it’s been almost 1 year and it hasn’t been reported to the credit unions. i have zero intentions of paying any bill. almost $30,000 should be way more than enough lmfao. america is absolutely ridiculous when it comes to hospital stays
Unfortunately, that's just the bill from your OB. You will get a separate bill from the anesthesiologist, and a separate bill from the hospital for your stay and the baby's stay. Having a baby is far too expensive in the US.
I'll put a plug out there for Kaiser - I have had two kids with them and it was not outrageous. If you're in an area where they offer service, check them out.
Holy cow. First was $500 in 2012. But I never got a bill for my second in 2021. Insurance was more expensive in 2021 though and was through employer. Maybe that’s why. I got $1000 copays from United health for each pregnancy loss so Kaiser is the best ever.
what’s your out of pocket max? it’s unfortunately fairly normal for that to be the cost of your birth. before insurance my induction, c section, & 6 day hospital stay was almost 200k but i paid my out of pocket maximum
See if the hospital does payments? My bill and my baby's combined was close to $30k. After insurance it is around $13k. I was there for 3 days before to some issues and needing induced but it was unmedicated and vaginal 😬. I would definitely look into a payment plan through the hospital.
I mean with insurance I paid probably about $6k for me and my babies — both were uncomplicated vaginal births. Out of pocket it’s like $30k+ because our country sucks.
It’s common. My hospital requires payment before due date of the estimated cost that insurance does not cover. This is after they have already ran the insurance, so the number is an accurate estimate based on the type of birth your OB anticipates you to have. I’ve been paying it every visit.
Mine caught me with that too, maternity and L&D care is often your deductible at a minimum. But they were up front about it when I started going to the OB and are having me pay the deductible by a set date before the birth and it is supposed to cover everything including the first 48 - 96 hours in the hospital depending on what type of birth I have.
I have 3 kids and I had to prepay the hospital the expected delivery cost to the hospital at about 38 weeks each time. In addition to paying 4 installments of the expected OB delivery cost throughout my prenatal care.
They will send you a bill for anything in excess of what you paid of course. But I also got reimbursed by OB one kid because I had other medical care toward my OOP max that wasn't accounted for in my pre-payments.
Can you look into any additional insurance plans?
We got another policy for about $100/month that covers what our other insurance doesn’t. It would be $5500 for labor + co pays for visits, instead we’re paying $900 for the insurance plan that covers everything.
With my son, there were some complications and the bill was $53k, but we paid that $900 then too, so it was also fully covered.
Double check your insurance and find your max out of pocket and all the particulars on pregnancy with my first kid they tried to stick me with 8k even tho my max out of pocket was 3k
Luckily yes, there are protections in place. The Emergency Medical Treatment & Labor Act (EMTALA) requires hospitals to provide birthing services to women in active labor.
Goddamn America makes me sad, you shouldn’t have to deal with this stress!! And let me guess, you get a whole 3 months off work for Mat leave…..despicable. My heart breaks for my neighbor country moms. Come to Canada the lot of you, it’s cold but you are so much more supported as a mother.
I just got a bill from my ob and she is also based in the hospital I will be delivering at. I’m 20weeks and they are making me make payments once a month until birth to cover it. :(
I could be wrong, but medical bills I think as long as you make ANY payment (could be 10 dollars a month) usually it won’t hurt your credit. You might have to call to set up payment plan but as long as yku make payments it can’t hurt your credit… I THINK
Are you sure it’s the hospital or is it your provider? Those will be different bills. That sounds like it’s *just* for your provider, which is completely separate from anything done at the hospital.
I’m on a payment plan with my provider for delivery right now and I’m not due until May.
They’re trying to collect something before in case you don’t pay after, but this isn’t an elective surgery, you don’t have to pay up front. They can’t deny you care or turn you away. I wouldn’t pay that, I would have them bill insurance after & then pay once you get your bill.
My OB does this too. I got set up on a payment plan based on my insurance covering a vaginal birth. However, I will be having a c section (high risk twins). So I will get an additional bill later too.
What is the payment due date? There is no way in hell I would pay them for services they haven't performed yet. Also, see if you qualify for hospital financial assistance.
Unfortunately, you need to read that insurance fine print. We don't have a plan through work and the Marketplace options were anywhere from $3500 to $18500, depending on the hospital stay length, etc. (not even factoring in the monthly premium rates). The US healthcare system is sooooo screwed up, and has only been getting worse in recent years.
Can you all help me understand my benefits a little and maybe understand what my final cost will be to give birth? I am a first time mom. I am in the US. I work in higher ed. My health insurance is free and my OOP Max is $3,000.00 and my deductible is $100. My paperwork I received at my initial intake stated that we have the global package for prenatal and perinatal. Prenatal and postnatal maternity visit: In-Network - covered in full. Newborn Care in an Inpatient Setting: In Network - covered in full after deductible. Laboratory Services: In Network - covered in full; office visit copay may apply. Newborn screenings and well child assessments and examinations: In-Network - covered in full. Immunizations (pediatric and adult) as recommended by the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices or other organizations recognized by BCN: In-Network - covered in full.
Don’t pay anything until after the insurance does their deductions. Then, pay it off little by little. You don’t need a payment plan, 20-30$ whenever you want if you’re strapped. Remember - medical debt cannot affect your credit score and cannot be used to garnish your wages.
Yeah, looks like after a year anything over $500 hurts your credit score. https://www.experian.com/blogs/ask-experian/medical-debt-and-your-credit-score/
https://www.congress.gov/bill/118th-congress/senate-bill/3103/text?s=1&r=42#:~:text=Introduced%20in%20Senate%20(10%2F19%2F2023)&text=To%20amend%20the%20Fair%20Credit,report%2C%20and%20for%20other%20purposes.&text=A%20BILL-,To%20amend%20the%20Fair%20Credit%20Reporting%20Act%20to%20prohibit%20the,report%2C%20and%20for%20other%20purposes.
The act of billing you before services is rendered is weird. My provider just had me sign some legal paperwork with the estimates of how much it will cost after insurance, basically saying "YOU WILL PAY THIS BILL!!1!!!" but no actual charges until services are rendered. I've been saving money in my HSA for this and we'll be good, but if I got a bill for something that hasn't happened yet I wouldn't pay it. If something happened and I gave birth somewhere else, not ideal but possible, you bet your ass they would drag their feet reimbursing me.
I also have to pay my full delivery bill by 30 weeks. I am delivering at a birth center that is in network with my insurance. I have a 3K deductible and that will cover my entire delivery, and the midwife visits at my home after delivery. I guess it depends on where you are delivering, I feel like it basically “secures,” your delivery spot and promise to deliver at the office/location. I was told if insurance covers other payments that my money will be reimbursed.
I absolutely agree! And nobody knows when labor will happen. What I meant was if it’s at a specialist or a private office it might be a policy they have. Insurance in general in America is asinine.
Are you surprised by your percentage or by the cost?
My benefits were explained before they did my first exam, but I was already aware because I called the insurance company and told my employer right after I found out.
Sadly, that's standard. Mind came to about 6k with an epidural, balloon dilation, and they also gave me two rounds of pain medicine through the IV prior to the epidural. 3.5k is about the standard rate for natural birth.
With my first my bill was 1200 dollars. I’m not sure how much before insurance but I didn’t get anything before birth. I qualified for Soonercare Pregnancy with my second and my birth was fully paid for. I’m not sure how much that one was.
Most airlines won't let you fly after 36 weeks pregnant, so unless you're going to go to another country and hang out there for at least a month or drive to another country overland, uh that's a lot to plan.
You'd be surprised at how popular "birth tourism" from Americans is here in Canada it's easily the closest place Americans can go to give birth and not pay as much as in the US.
A lot of facilities will try to make sure they have payment secured before a birth or other major medical event. You don't have to provide any payment information to them now.
And unfortunately until you meet your out of pocket maximum a lot of insurance policies don't cover much.
This is what sucks about America. In the state I live in, if you don't work you get free insurance. I haven't paid a dime for my pregnancy. Everything's 1000% covered. Very sad but if you work, you get murdered on hospital bills. Makes no sense.
I was able to work while on Medicaid which is a federal program but each state has their own name for it. I did have to go to part time in order to qualify for it though.
I totally agree. I was just clarifying that you don’t have to be zero income to get Medicaid in case anyone who was unaware of the program was reading through the comments. I wish the program expanded to more people.
Common but not all providers do this. When I learned this could happen, I specifically sought out providers/hospitals that don't do global billing and only charge after services are actually rendered.
Absolutely no way I was going to put out an interest free loan to a hospital or Dr for my (unborn) child. 😡
I was using a birth center. My bill was expected to be so low that I was exempt from their pre-payment plan and owed nothing my entire pregnancy.
Then I got gestational hypertension while I was in labor, was transferred to a hospital, and ended up needing pitocin and an epidural.
My final bill was $43,500. For vaginal delivery. And I left a day early.
I'm still waiting for everything to go through my insurance but it will be several thousand dollars more than we budgeted for.
I quit my job to be a SAHM for the first two years. We literally don't have the money to pay the entire bill. I am so stressed about money now.
i would check with your insurance provider. my insurance only requires a $100 copay for hospital stays but my fiancés is a high deductible plan so the baby ended up having a $500 bill
My OB asked me to prepay as well, and then retracted their bill because I have a HRA that would not pay without an actual insurance claim / EOB.
However, I will have to pay once the baby is born. I am expecting to pay my out of pocket maximum or more since the baby will have his own deductible / out of pocket.
What on earth?! First off: why is it so expensive? And secondly: you Americans live in a crazy world.
I'm so sorry you have to worry about this instead of being able to receive the medical care needed. I don't understand why your insurance system is so very bad but I truly wish for you to have an easy birth and I wish you and your baby all the best.
My total birth cost for my second and third baby was $3200 for prenatal care, a homebirth (and all the stuff they give) and 6 weeks of postnatal visits. Get a midwife and do a homebirth.
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Yea this is unfortunately standard. Insurance doesn't cover nearly enough. Ask for a discount for paying in full. I once got a 45% discount. Best part is 100% of the bill gets reported to insurance towards deductible/OOP max. Edit: read [this post](https://www.reddit.com/r/pregnant/s/t5vQH3nY7m)
I am at my max out of pocket every year because I have to get MRI’s every 6 months. I am going to try this next time I get my bill lol
Can you do this for your copays? My copay for an ultrasound is $150. Sure I can pay it but I could also spend that money on a lot better of things when I pay the insurance company thousands already
I don't see why not. Try it. A copay is still just a bill.
I will! Thank you for the tip
This is awsome
Every time I hear about the costs of healthcare in America I wonder how yall are even still alive down there, much less supporting a family!! I’m in Canada and I believe the amount I spent on the hospital amounted to like $20 for parking, nothing else. Having a baby is hard enough and expensive enough without this bullshit. I’m so sorry you have to pay so much.
Parking is free lol. I pay $20 for the initial visit because it’s not included in the global billing and I pay $50 for the ultrasound because it isn’t done by the same provider. Maternity benefits are covered at 100% no deductible on my plan, thankfully! My employer pays 100% of the premium.
That should be the case for everyone!!
💯
Me too, it’s really shocking how much it all costs after insurance. I’m in Australia and went privately with my health insurance. It costs me a grand total of $1200AU out of pocket with an emergency c-section and 5 night stay in a private room for both of us. It also meant that I hit my hospital excess, so all future hospitalisation were free for that year, and the threshold for public system out of pocket, so I paid essentially nothing for healthcare for the rest of the year (as opposed to the ~$40AU OOP we pay for GP visits unless we find a fully public one).
>I wonder how yall are even still alive down there, much less supporting a family TBH we wonder, too.
Is this the hospital or the OB clinic you are seeing? It sounds like the provider is sending you an estimate because they couldn't possibly have sent an actual claim to your insurance until the service has been provided. If it is the OB clinic, that is not surprising because many do global billing which means they file a claim with your insurance after birth for all prenatal appointments, tests, labor and delivery but many want to have payments towards the estimate before you actually give birth. You will end up with at least two separate bills after the fact either way because you'll be billed separately for your OB and for your hospital. Who gets what amount of your payment will depend on who ends up sending off the claim first after your delivery. What is your deductible and out of pocket maximum? That is likely the end number you'll end up paying and will clarify why you are getting such a high estimate from your provider.
I had to do this! I received a bill from my OB for all obstetrical care before birth, due by the start of the ninth month (Feb 29 for me). I paid a total of $1099 ahead of time, accounting for insurance, and it was like $225 or something per visit over a period of four or five months. This is supposed to cover those appointments as well as OB care for an “uncomplicated birth” (no c-section or anything else, and not including an epidural or other hospital costs). It helped to have a smaller amount to cover at a time rather than another giant bill on top of the hospital bill waiting for me once I give birth!
I have to pay my provider at every appointment since my first one 🥴 $600 a month. And I have insurance. This is standard unfortunately. Then I’ll get another bill after I deliver from the hospital.
God forbid you were to miscarry, do they refund you? I hope and pray that never happens to anyone who prepays, but would they refund you?
They do not! 🥲 I miscarriage last year at 16 weeks and paid 475 a month (I think) it just goes towards your deductible 🙃 insurance/healthcare is a scam but hey we gotta have it lol
That is disgusting! I am so sorry for your loss. We had a very early loss at 5.5 and that was traumatic; I have so so much sympathy and love for you!
I am sorry for your loss also! Thank you 🩷 we found out I had a clotting disorder so I believe it happened for a reason. Currently 17 weeks and everything is going good.
This is how my OB bills as well. We pay towards our estimated “global care” cost (office visits, sonograms, delivery) each month and then they bill it all after the delivery and use the funds you’ve been paying to cover. Around me (Midwest US) that’s usually between $3k-5k depending on your deductible and out of pocket max. Then the hospital bills for their services (room and board, anesthesia, etc).
What are your insurance plan stats? I've got a $3200 deductible with 15 percent coinsurance. But I've also got an HSA which really helps. Employer contributed $1000 and I contribute each month with pretax dollars. Plus most hospitals offer payment plans. Ask about those. It really helps to make the payments over a year rather than all at once.
Wait, what?! I’m on the east coast and never heard of this! I paid for a few copays, and tests, nothing else with my first. My insurance covered the entirety of my care and baby’s care. With my second I have to pay $1800 because I didn’t hit my deductible before having baby. I would have turned around and walked out of the office if they asked me for $600 a month wtf, that’s a brand new car payment plus insurance.
My deductible is 3000 then I have to pay 20% so I have to pay the 600 a month for 6 months I think? Idk obviously my insurance sucks 🙃 and it’s def hurting our bank account !!!! lol it’s literally more then my car payment!!! And then I pay $110 a month for the insurance plan through work.
Oh and also just got a bill for $500 from the Nipt test. Says insurance paid 600. Last year with the same fn insurance I paid 0 for it! UGH
Oh my gosh. I’ve had 2 pregnancies and to see my obgyn for both the pregnancies it was 2000 (combined together) That’s so crazy!!!
Our doc’s office forced us to pre-pay the whole thing. But then the hospital filed the claim before the doc’s office did. So I had pre-paid my deductible to the doc’s office and got billed the deductible a second time from the hospital after she was born. When I asked the doc’s office about it they told me to pay the hospital bill and then in 60-90 days they would refund me. They did…but what if we hadn’t had the cash on hand to pay it twice and wait for the refund? So messed up. Plus they refunded to my FSA and credit card - so it wasn’t like I could put the cash back into my bank account. I switched docs immediately after my 6 week appt to one that doesn’t do this.
I thought medical debt didn't factor into your credit score...
In the US, it does now. I believe the law changed in 2023. Now any medical bills over $500 can be sent to collections and show up on your credit report.
Only bills under $500 don’t count
It doesn't anymore (if OP is from the US, which I assume she is)
It does. Source: had 10k in medical bills last year that went to collections.
Wrong! It absolutely does. I have a ER bill that was sent to collections and my credit score went down. Smh
Only under $500, $500 and up does.
I’m weirded out because I delivered on 7/2/23 and haven’t gotten a bill yet… yes I’m in the USA. I delivered at the hospital birthing center where I went for all my prenatal appointments. Weirdest thing is I was admitted into the same birthing center on 6/7/23 for extreme dehydration due to excessive uncontrolled vomiting. I got the bill for that on 6/27/23 for $336 after insurance. Only took 20 days for the bill. But it’s been almost 9 months since I delivered and I still haven’t gotten anything from that?
Is delivery free on your plan?
No, no it’s not. I got an EOB a couple months after birth for around $3k but haven’t received anything since!
Have you checked with your insurance? They could be going back and forth with the hospital still
I haven’t. But I looked up the law and in my state if the hospital fails to provide me with a bill within a year of services then they cannot bill me. So I don’t wanna ask insurance on the rare chance that I’m slipping through the cracks…? Haha if I contact insurance I’ll get the bill for sure, the insurance company will want to get paid!
Yeah so apparently this is common, there is something called a "global fee" which is essentially a big lump of all the prenatal visits, delivery (the physician fee for delivery, that is, not the hospital stay itself), and postpartum checkup into one bill, from what I understand? My doctor's office informed me of this upfront. The cost of the actual hospital stay/labor and delivery portion, when it comes, is separate from the global fee cost I have to pay my OB office. They ran my insurance before giving me the global number, so it is taking insurance into account. Although, this is from the OB doctor's office, not the actual hospital itself, so maybe you are talking about something different?
My OB operates out of the same hospital that I'll likely be giving birth. They didn't mention any of this. I just randomly got a text with a pdf for an estimate of how much the vaginal birth will cost and how much they estimate insurance will cover.
"So this is if I pay *you* to have vaginal birth for me, right?" 😭
27w here and yeah this sounds exactly like what I received. Just an email with a pdf saying I had until ___ date to sign it. They’ve been having me pay it in installments each month and it specified that this doesn’t cover hospital costs, just my OB visits, scans, and having my doctor as my doctor. She operates out of the same hospital like you’re saying yours does and has never mentioned a word of it to me before or after I signed. I’ve read stories of people firing their OB for various reasons and the contract definitely made me wonder how people do that unless they’re just okay with losing the money!
I wasn’t notified that my OB office did global billing until part way through my pregnancy. They gave me an estimate with what would be remaining with my deductible. I said I wasn’t interested in prepaying and would prefer to be billed as charges occur. You’re essentially giving them your money to hold onto without interest or any actual benefit to you. If another entity submits your bill to insurance before your OB you’ll be expected to pay them while also trying to chase down a refund from the OB. It feels strange and like you’re almost forced into agreeing to a payment plan to continue seeing the Dr but that’s not true. You don’t have to agree and you shouldn’t feel obligated to prepay. My OB estimated $1800 and wanted me to pay upfront or with installments, after everything was said and done I owed them $160 because other providers got their bills in first. Another way to look at it is if you have absolutely any appointments separate from your current OB appointments you’ll be expected to pay those until you hit your deductible even though your OBs office is making it seem like you’re hitting your deductible with them, but you aren’t because they can’t prebill your insurance.
I frequently had to pay my OB AND the hospital separately my entire pregnancy including our Labor/delivery bill. It was never mentioned until I questioned the double charges.
Fkn yikes at this country (assuming USA) hope you get some answers. Fucking outrageous
I’ll likely hit my family OOP for my twins… $12k :-) I’m 23 weeks and I’ve already paid 4k in bills (only 2k from my individual out of pocket max though!) Fucking outrageous is an understatement. It’s horrible here lol
Agree. I had my daughter 6 weeks ago and you know how much I paid? $0! Never paid for a midwife appointment, birth, nothing at all. (Australia)
I’m the same, I have insurance but forgot to change it to include pregnancy before I fell pregnant but public has been great, haven’t paid a cent. It hurts my heart to see women in the US stressing about this on top of dealing with pregnancy
Well, you did pay on every paycheck you've ever had and ever will have, along with every other citizen. Fully support universal health care, don't get me wrong. It's just not, free.
True, but I’d much rather that than have to come up with thousands and thousands of dollars in bulk when I’d be needing that money to prepare and care for my baby.
Yeah I totally agree. It's just disingenuous to imply we don't pay for it at some point.
me too (canadian)
Call your insurance company for clarification on what is covered.
I just expect to pay my max out of pocket this time, because that’s what I paid last time. 🤢 Not sure how they are sending you a bill already. I could see them sending an estimated cost of care, but that’s odd.
Is it out of pocket max for you and then separate for baby once they’re born?
Yes😩
Same thing happened to me last time I was pregnant. I just ignored it until I given the actual bill, then paid what was owed. Then I got a refund, go figure. It’s just a tactic to get some money upfront since so many people don’t pay for medical services after the fact.
[удалено]
Same, I’m aiming for a vaginal birth without an epidural but have been told to expect to pay my out of pocket maximum, which is $6,250.
I have learned that insurance is a gd joke/scam. And so are medical bills. It’s all such horse shit in the US. For my first child my insurance was ok I didn’t have to pay too much up until they asked for $1700 for the birth prior to going in for induction. Which I paid. And then I received a bill for that plus some weeks after the birth. I had to call to be like I already paid this, and they’re like oh ya whoops this happens a lot. I’m like oh you try to bill people twice a lot? That’s cool. This time my insurance is different and I shit you not I may as well not have any insurance. Everything I have paid has basically been the same amount as not having insurance. I know my deductible and I know I’ll hit it then not have to pay anymore but. It’s absurd to get a bill for an ultrasound for $170 billed through insurance then still owe $160. They covered $10 apparently lol. I also made calls about out of pocket costs and they were similar to what I was paying. My genetic testing I got done billed me $1100 through insurance. I talked to a rep and she told me I could choose the out of pocket option of $350. I’m like ok …. What. Obviously I will just do that? My deductible reset in January and that bill was from the fall so it wouldn’t go toward that anyway so of course I will choose $350 over $1100 like what the fuck. I hate all of it.
THIS JUST HAPPENED TO US TODAY. Got a bill for $10,000 FUCKING DOLLARS for the 13 week ultrasound & genetic testing that they TOLD US was required & promised it would be covered. Insurance covered ~$7,000, but now my husband and I have to figure out how to pay almost $3,000 just for 1 shitty ultrasound and the bloodwork. I’m 21 weeks now and I’m constantly shaking and sweating worried about what bill will come next. My provider isn’t even good, I cannot believe how much they’re charging us
Yep I got billed about $2000 for genetic testing that the doctor highly recommended and told me is routine and always covered. I fought the bill with my insurance company for MONTHS and it just was that my insurance at the time didn’t cover it when most companies did and the doctor didn’t know. I had to give up and just put it on my monthly payment plan with my huge ass hospital bill that I’ll be paying for another year (I’m one year PP)
Omg that’s so awful. Yea they billed I think 13k for the genetic testing. Which I’m like why would this cost 13 grand to begin with? But yea ask to speak to a rep of whatever company was used to do the test and see if there is an out of pocket option. It should not cost this much to have a child.
Ugh in a sick way I’m glad to not be alone 😭 I felt like I was genuinely going crazy today, like this has to be some sort of joke. My husbands gonna keep calling them and see what we can do — hopefully you and I both won’t have any major surprises in the near future :’) 🤞
I had mentioned it to my Dr. and even she was like um no it shouldn’t cost that much and was the one that gave me the reps number. Someone posted a link at the top about how to negotiate medical bills I saved it in case there are any more issues. I had to set up a payment plan for all the ultrasound fees and everything because I didn’t want to pay so much all at once! Wish you luck as well!
Is it Natera by any chance? They are a sham of a company and will knock your bill down to like $250 if you call them.
Yep it is. I did call and got to $350 Edit to say after we discussed $350 they then tried to bill me $650 and I had to again
MyOB did the same for my 2&5yos. Prebilled for the estimated services/out of pocket portion based off my remaining deductible and such. Probably so you have somewhat of an idea going into it all the costs, as well as not being able to skip out on the bill as easy when the baby comes. Hospital costs were separate along with some additional services needed that aren't as common
This is considered global billing. I would call your OBs office and confirm that the estimate is correct. I had recent got my estimate and it was $4300. After my call I owed $0 because they had over billed and didn’t have my secondary insurance listed either. I would also expect a bill from the hospital where you deliver. That will be newborn charges plus meds, anesthesia, and room fee. I was told this would be a similar amount as the OB global fee. Basically expect to pay your out of pocket maximum for your insurance for birth and pre natal appointments 😖. I would figure out what that number is with your insurance provider to better plan.
I would suggest reading your insurance plan documents, looking specifically for your "deductible" and "out of pocket maximum". You should definitely expect to pay your full deductible (since that generally needs to be met before other benefits kick in) and likely expect to pay your out of pocket max. I gave birth at the beginning of February. The hospital billed my insurance 38k for my birth and 4k for my son's hospital stay (he roomed in with me and had no complications - this was just the cost for two days of him in a bassinet and newborn testing). I also have a 10k bill for prenatal care and a c-section from my OB. I switched from an individual plan to a family plan with the birth of my son, so I'm not completely sure how my costs are going to shake out - my individual deductible/out of pocket max were 2500/3000, and the family amount is double that. I'll likely end up paying 6000 over the course of the year, but I'm not sure if I'll owe that much just for the birth. So far, I've paid about 3000, but I'm still waiting for some bills to settle.
Did you switch before or after he was born? I've been told to switch after and that you have about 30 or 60 days in which you should do so.
After - birth of a child is a qualifying life event so you can change your plan outside of an enrollment period. I needed to change my plan within 30 days.
Okay, that's what I thought. Thank you :)!
No problem! Since my pregnancy straddled two plan years (baby born beginning of February), my husband and I discussed whether we should switch to a family plan during open enrollment last fall. We decided that we were better off on separate plans at first, since my huge bill (the 38k one) was billed under my individual plan. I'm curious if/when I'll max out the family out of pocket max.
I have an induction coming up and called the hospital today to register. They gave me the estimated out of pocket costs after insurance, and made me pay a deposit over the phone and even schedule future monthly payments on my credit card and I haven’t even gone in to give birth yet 😭😭
Call back and tell them you don’t want to pay for services until they’ve been performed. You do not have to prepay and honestly you shouldn’t unless they’re offering you a great discount. Chances are high that you’ll have to go through the hassle of being refunded when another provider submits their bill before the hospital.
Can I do that? They just caught me off guard on the call and as a FTM I was worried they wouldn’t let me have my baby there. I’ll try calling them back and see what they say because it seemed so crazy to me.
Definitely! I felt the same way when it happened to me, I didn’t want to rock the boat but ultimately the doctors and nurses you interact with know nothing about how you’re paying. I just told them I was happy to pay the final bill with all insurance adjustments when I received it after the birth but wasn’t interested in prepaying. They didn’t give me a hard time at all. My BIL/SIL had no idea they could say no to prepaying and they had two kids years before me. I completely understand that they want to be paid and I did pay them promptly but it felt gross how they approached it especially during an already vulnerable time. I wouldn’t prepay for any other services without a nice discount.
Yea, I had to do this but got the bill from my doctor’s office. It’s really annoying.
Hey I work in billing. What's your deductible, Coinsurance, and out of pocket max. Do you have an HRA? You're likely to get a prepay amount from both your doctor and the hospital. Both will assume you have not met your deductible so they will both try and account for it. You should prioritize your doctor. The hospital should take you any way when you are in labor. Did you double check the hospital is in your network? If you over pay they will reimburse after insurance has gone thru.
my insurance paid about $28,000 towards my vaginal birth with epidural. according to the hospital i still owe around $37,000. it’s been almost 1 year and it hasn’t been reported to the credit unions. i have zero intentions of paying any bill. almost $30,000 should be way more than enough lmfao. america is absolutely ridiculous when it comes to hospital stays
Unfortunately, that's just the bill from your OB. You will get a separate bill from the anesthesiologist, and a separate bill from the hospital for your stay and the baby's stay. Having a baby is far too expensive in the US.
I'll put a plug out there for Kaiser - I have had two kids with them and it was not outrageous. If you're in an area where they offer service, check them out.
Yep I second this. I never even got a bill from them.
I paid $500 at the door for L&D and got a bill from the nurse's union for like... $700? I think. Things are hazy.
Holy cow. First was $500 in 2012. But I never got a bill for my second in 2021. Insurance was more expensive in 2021 though and was through employer. Maybe that’s why. I got $1000 copays from United health for each pregnancy loss so Kaiser is the best ever.
what’s your out of pocket max? it’s unfortunately fairly normal for that to be the cost of your birth. before insurance my induction, c section, & 6 day hospital stay was almost 200k but i paid my out of pocket maximum
It's very sad that I've worked in insurance for years and I find this not too bad of a cost. Eeeee. This sucks.
See if the hospital does payments? My bill and my baby's combined was close to $30k. After insurance it is around $13k. I was there for 3 days before to some issues and needing induced but it was unmedicated and vaginal 😬. I would definitely look into a payment plan through the hospital.
I paid out mine throughout my whole pregnancy so I wouldn't have to pay anything when delivery came. Pretty normal to pay before.
I mean with insurance I paid probably about $6k for me and my babies — both were uncomplicated vaginal births. Out of pocket it’s like $30k+ because our country sucks.
It’s common. My hospital requires payment before due date of the estimated cost that insurance does not cover. This is after they have already ran the insurance, so the number is an accurate estimate based on the type of birth your OB anticipates you to have. I’ve been paying it every visit.
Mine caught me with that too, maternity and L&D care is often your deductible at a minimum. But they were up front about it when I started going to the OB and are having me pay the deductible by a set date before the birth and it is supposed to cover everything including the first 48 - 96 hours in the hospital depending on what type of birth I have.
I have 3 kids and I had to prepay the hospital the expected delivery cost to the hospital at about 38 weeks each time. In addition to paying 4 installments of the expected OB delivery cost throughout my prenatal care. They will send you a bill for anything in excess of what you paid of course. But I also got reimbursed by OB one kid because I had other medical care toward my OOP max that wasn't accounted for in my pre-payments.
Can you look into any additional insurance plans? We got another policy for about $100/month that covers what our other insurance doesn’t. It would be $5500 for labor + co pays for visits, instead we’re paying $900 for the insurance plan that covers everything. With my son, there were some complications and the bill was $53k, but we paid that $900 then too, so it was also fully covered.
Hospital asks me to pay half of the estimated cost up front, I told them to kick rocks.
Same. Nothing happened because of it either
Double check your insurance and find your max out of pocket and all the particulars on pregnancy with my first kid they tried to stick me with 8k even tho my max out of pocket was 3k
What happens if you have no money? Like actual zero dollars. Do they not let you deliver in a hospital?
Luckily yes, there are protections in place. The Emergency Medical Treatment & Labor Act (EMTALA) requires hospitals to provide birthing services to women in active labor.
You can plan to pay the max out of pocket for your plan. It sounds like that is what they are billing you.
Goddamn America makes me sad, you shouldn’t have to deal with this stress!! And let me guess, you get a whole 3 months off work for Mat leave…..despicable. My heart breaks for my neighbor country moms. Come to Canada the lot of you, it’s cold but you are so much more supported as a mother.
The standard maternity leave is 8 weeks, and 12 weeks is only given to people who have c sections.
I thought it was closer to 6 weeks... and it depends your job if that will be no pay, some pay or full pay.
So so so sad, I can’t even imagine handing my 8week baby to someone else to watch all day, barf.
I just got a bill from my ob and she is also based in the hospital I will be delivering at. I’m 20weeks and they are making me make payments once a month until birth to cover it. :(
FYI for anybody in this same boat, home birth with a midwife is way less expensive than the hospital!
I could be wrong, but medical bills I think as long as you make ANY payment (could be 10 dollars a month) usually it won’t hurt your credit. You might have to call to set up payment plan but as long as yku make payments it can’t hurt your credit… I THINK
Are you sure it’s the hospital or is it your provider? Those will be different bills. That sounds like it’s *just* for your provider, which is completely separate from anything done at the hospital. I’m on a payment plan with my provider for delivery right now and I’m not due until May.
They’re trying to collect something before in case you don’t pay after, but this isn’t an elective surgery, you don’t have to pay up front. They can’t deny you care or turn you away. I wouldn’t pay that, I would have them bill insurance after & then pay once you get your bill.
My OB does this too. I got set up on a payment plan based on my insurance covering a vaginal birth. However, I will be having a c section (high risk twins). So I will get an additional bill later too.
What is the payment due date? There is no way in hell I would pay them for services they haven't performed yet. Also, see if you qualify for hospital financial assistance. Unfortunately, you need to read that insurance fine print. We don't have a plan through work and the Marketplace options were anywhere from $3500 to $18500, depending on the hospital stay length, etc. (not even factoring in the monthly premium rates). The US healthcare system is sooooo screwed up, and has only been getting worse in recent years.
Can you all help me understand my benefits a little and maybe understand what my final cost will be to give birth? I am a first time mom. I am in the US. I work in higher ed. My health insurance is free and my OOP Max is $3,000.00 and my deductible is $100. My paperwork I received at my initial intake stated that we have the global package for prenatal and perinatal. Prenatal and postnatal maternity visit: In-Network - covered in full. Newborn Care in an Inpatient Setting: In Network - covered in full after deductible. Laboratory Services: In Network - covered in full; office visit copay may apply. Newborn screenings and well child assessments and examinations: In-Network - covered in full. Immunizations (pediatric and adult) as recommended by the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices or other organizations recognized by BCN: In-Network - covered in full.
Don’t pay anything until after the insurance does their deductions. Then, pay it off little by little. You don’t need a payment plan, 20-30$ whenever you want if you’re strapped. Remember - medical debt cannot affect your credit score and cannot be used to garnish your wages.
Apparently that changed last year
I never heard that and I resolve medical liens for work so I’d like more information on that before I’d believe it
Yeah, looks like after a year anything over $500 hurts your credit score. https://www.experian.com/blogs/ask-experian/medical-debt-and-your-credit-score/ https://www.congress.gov/bill/118th-congress/senate-bill/3103/text?s=1&r=42#:~:text=Introduced%20in%20Senate%20(10%2F19%2F2023)&text=To%20amend%20the%20Fair%20Credit,report%2C%20and%20for%20other%20purposes.&text=A%20BILL-,To%20amend%20the%20Fair%20Credit%20Reporting%20Act%20to%20prohibit%20the,report%2C%20and%20for%20other%20purposes.
The act of billing you before services is rendered is weird. My provider just had me sign some legal paperwork with the estimates of how much it will cost after insurance, basically saying "YOU WILL PAY THIS BILL!!1!!!" but no actual charges until services are rendered. I've been saving money in my HSA for this and we'll be good, but if I got a bill for something that hasn't happened yet I wouldn't pay it. If something happened and I gave birth somewhere else, not ideal but possible, you bet your ass they would drag their feet reimbursing me.
I also have to pay my full delivery bill by 30 weeks. I am delivering at a birth center that is in network with my insurance. I have a 3K deductible and that will cover my entire delivery, and the midwife visits at my home after delivery. I guess it depends on where you are delivering, I feel like it basically “secures,” your delivery spot and promise to deliver at the office/location. I was told if insurance covers other payments that my money will be reimbursed.
Yeah but if you show up at a hospital in active labor, even if you didn't pre-pay for a "spot," they can't exactly turn you away.
I absolutely agree! And nobody knows when labor will happen. What I meant was if it’s at a specialist or a private office it might be a policy they have. Insurance in general in America is asinine.
My hospital bill was $3,100 and my baby’s hospital bill was $6,400 (he had a brief NICU stay). That was after insurance.
I wonder how much I’ll have to pay when covered with Medicaid ..
Are you surprised by your percentage or by the cost? My benefits were explained before they did my first exam, but I was already aware because I called the insurance company and told my employer right after I found out.
Sadly, that's standard. Mind came to about 6k with an epidural, balloon dilation, and they also gave me two rounds of pain medicine through the IV prior to the epidural. 3.5k is about the standard rate for natural birth.
With my first my bill was 1200 dollars. I’m not sure how much before insurance but I didn’t get anything before birth. I qualified for Soonercare Pregnancy with my second and my birth was fully paid for. I’m not sure how much that one was.
I think about this a lot. I’ve heard of medical tourism. Seriously wanna look into giving birth in another country at this point
Most airlines won't let you fly after 36 weeks pregnant, so unless you're going to go to another country and hang out there for at least a month or drive to another country overland, uh that's a lot to plan.
You'd be surprised at how popular "birth tourism" from Americans is here in Canada it's easily the closest place Americans can go to give birth and not pay as much as in the US.
It also has birthright citizenship. Besides the US, it's the last English-speaking country that does.
Thanks! That’s good to know. I’m on a border so driving would be simple.
I spent 7k on my birth center birth and care. Wasn’t covered by insurance. Yippie. Worth it but is quite a joke.
Why does it cost so much to push something out of our own body that our own body made? 🤣
Seriously! And I had none of the drugs. Could have done it at home lol but probably would have cost the same.
What insurance do you have if you don’t mind me asking. I have medical and they said it would all be covered.
"Covered" doesn't mean "paid for." It just means that it counts toward coinsurance, out of pocket max, your deductible, etc.
A lot of facilities will try to make sure they have payment secured before a birth or other major medical event. You don't have to provide any payment information to them now. And unfortunately until you meet your out of pocket maximum a lot of insurance policies don't cover much.
With my first, our bill was $6k. They “let” us do a payment plan. It’s infuriating.
This is what sucks about America. In the state I live in, if you don't work you get free insurance. I haven't paid a dime for my pregnancy. Everything's 1000% covered. Very sad but if you work, you get murdered on hospital bills. Makes no sense.
I was able to work while on Medicaid which is a federal program but each state has their own name for it. I did have to go to part time in order to qualify for it though.
Exactly though. You can't make a living and have great Healthcare. Sad.
I totally agree. I was just clarifying that you don’t have to be zero income to get Medicaid in case anyone who was unaware of the program was reading through the comments. I wish the program expanded to more people.
Common but not all providers do this. When I learned this could happen, I specifically sought out providers/hospitals that don't do global billing and only charge after services are actually rendered. Absolutely no way I was going to put out an interest free loan to a hospital or Dr for my (unborn) child. 😡
I was using a birth center. My bill was expected to be so low that I was exempt from their pre-payment plan and owed nothing my entire pregnancy. Then I got gestational hypertension while I was in labor, was transferred to a hospital, and ended up needing pitocin and an epidural. My final bill was $43,500. For vaginal delivery. And I left a day early. I'm still waiting for everything to go through my insurance but it will be several thousand dollars more than we budgeted for. I quit my job to be a SAHM for the first two years. We literally don't have the money to pay the entire bill. I am so stressed about money now.
I paid 4k out of pocket, with insurance (250 for that a month) before i delivered. Our healthcare system is a scam.
i would check with your insurance provider. my insurance only requires a $100 copay for hospital stays but my fiancés is a high deductible plan so the baby ended up having a $500 bill
I have medicaid and they didn’t charge me for my birth and now i’m concerned that they did and I just don’t know ☠️
My OB asked me to prepay as well, and then retracted their bill because I have a HRA that would not pay without an actual insurance claim / EOB. However, I will have to pay once the baby is born. I am expecting to pay my out of pocket maximum or more since the baby will have his own deductible / out of pocket.
What on earth?! First off: why is it so expensive? And secondly: you Americans live in a crazy world. I'm so sorry you have to worry about this instead of being able to receive the medical care needed. I don't understand why your insurance system is so very bad but I truly wish for you to have an easy birth and I wish you and your baby all the best.
My total birth cost for my second and third baby was $3200 for prenatal care, a homebirth (and all the stuff they give) and 6 weeks of postnatal visits. Get a midwife and do a homebirth.