How much does giving birth cost in the U.S?

[Clintonista2]

My brother and his wife had a baby today ( :woohoo: ), and we were sitting in the hospital room with them, and I couldn't help wondering what it would have cost them if they had given birth in an American hospital. She was in a private room, nurses checking in on her constantly, meals delivered, painkillers etc, and they are expecting to stay in the hospital for about 3 days. Total cost in canada: 8$ (cost to make as many long-distance calls from the room as they want for the next 3 days).

But wait.. isn't socialized medicine evil or something? :eyes:

[MissB]

Nothing for me.

Neither of my two kids cost me anything. We had excellent insurance at that time - pregnancy was 100% covered - no copays for anything. Considering my second was high risk and both pregnancies ended with c-sections, I'm rather grateful for having that excellent insurance.

We have different insurance now. It'd cost us $3k to $6k a child.

[MissB]

1. .

[LeftyMom]

2. Costs aren't really easily compared.

Unless you have gold plated insurance or one hell of a medical complication, US hospitals generally send mom and baby home the day after the birth, and the only reason they keep them overnight in California at least is that it's legally required, otherwise they were sending uncomplicated vaginal deliveries home within a few hours.

But last I read an uncomplicated vaginal delivery in hospital is in the $10-15 K range. Home birth w/ midwife is usually about $5 K. I have no idea what a section runs these days- I know my mother's was $2500 when I was born, but that was 26 years ago so I'm sure they're a bit more now. ;)

[MissB]

3. I thought that there was a federal law mandating a minimum allowed stay.

Maybe I'm remembering wrong too...

My insurance covered up to five days post c-section. Had I given birth vaginally, they would've covered two days.

[Fierce]

4. Co-worker's wife just had a c-section.

He paid $500, insurance paid $17,000.

[Hieronymus]

5. Sounds similar to France .. private room etc.

May 20, 2004

FRENCH HEALTHCARE....The Economist provides a capsule summary of healthcare in France:

Its hospitals gleam. Waiting-lists are non-existent. Doctors still make home visits. Life expectancy is two years longer than average for the western world.

....For the patient, the French health system is still a joy. Same-day appointments can be made easily; if one doctor's advice displeases, you can consult another, a habit known as nomadisme médical. Individual hospital rooms are the norm. Specialists can be consulted without referral. And while the patient pays up front, almost all the money is reimbursed, either through the public insurance system or a top-up private policy.

For family doctors too, liberty prevails. They are self-employed, can set up a practice where they like, prescribe what they like, and are paid per consultation. As the health ministry's own diagnosis put it recently: “The French system offers more freedom than any other in the world.”

And despite the Economist's scary headline, which proclaims that "crisis looms," the French system provides this service to everyone in the country and does it for less than half the cost per person of the U.S. Even if they decide to raise taxes to cover a growing deficit in their healthcare fund (the subject of the Economist's article) their costs will still be less than half ours per person.

Now, there are undoubtedly drawbacks to the French system. They probably have fewer high-tech machines than we do, and the comparative cost figures may be skewed by the American love of elective procedures. Still, there would have to be a lot of drawbacks to make their system less attractive than ours.

So why not adopt it? Well, that would be socialized medicine. Can't have that, can we? After all, everyone knows that when you socialize something it automatically declines slowly into anarchy and uselessness. Right?

[liberalmuse]

6. I can buy a Starbucks and a paper...or have a baby.

It costs about $10,000 without insurance (if you're lucky) and about $4,000 after insurance in most parts of the U.S. I dunno. Why can't American have a health care system we can brag about? What is so difficult about it? Oh, I know. Because our congress spends more time trolling mens rooms, brothels and the dens of iniquity where lobbyists hang out than it does trying to do anything even somewhat beneficial for the people who pay their salary (and legal fees).

Something to think about. Today, each baby comes into this world automatically owing around $166,000, thanks to Bush.

[Warpy]

7. That's why a lot of uninsured people are doing home deliveries

assisted by lay midwives, if they can afford them.

[Lex1775]

8. Be glad she didn't have the baby in Japan...

Unbelievable: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/6970192.stm

[elfin]

9. My son and his wife are expecting --

Thanks to excellent corporate health insurance, their total estimated bill will be about $100 including delivery, despite extensive ultrasounds, genetic testing etc.

They are "late" to the reprodeuctive scene -- 38 -- so are doing ALL the tests - which thankfully are covered.

They are in the minority and know it, and are well aware that my son works for a rare company that has a policy that provides this coverage.

[recoveringrepublican]

10. my insurance paid 100% of it, from positive test to labor

All my yearly gyn appointments are co-pay only ($15).

But if I didn't have insurance, or was under insured (my husband works for USPS and gets Federal BCBS) for my complications free births, each would have been around $10,000 I would say. That's from conception to labor.

oops, I guess you could include what we pay monthly for insurance to cover the rest of the costs. We are VERY fortunate, we pay around $60/month for family coverage. The coverage is pretty good also.

Edited to add congrats!!!!

[knitter4democracy]

11. Seven years ago, my Ob/Gyn's package was $3000.

That was for all the prenatal care and for a normal delivery. It didn't include any surgical costs, should that be needed. Two years after that, my midwife's package was $2800 for the same thing. Our insurance covered both entirely, but I wondered how the heck people deal with it otherwise at the time. I still do.