The cost of giving birth?

Question

I'm curious how much you have paid in medical bills after giving birth to your baby, in the US. (Yes, I know other countries are free, so don't be smart and rub it in everybody’s faces) I'm getting a little nervous at what my final bill is going to look like. So what was your final costs for giving birth, uncomplicated and naturally. How much did your insurance cover? I'm trying to get an idea of what I'm to expect. Thanks everybody!

Answer 1

The total bill w/o insurance and including the newborn fees, is between $6,000-8,000. My insurance pays for 90 % of the costs plus a $150 co-pay each day I'm in the hospital. Since I give birth unmedicated, I am planning on saving $300 for the co-pays and $600 for the remainder of costs.

Answer 2

Well it all depends on your insurance coverage.. is it 80% and is maternity fully covered and have you met any or all of your deductible. I paid more for my miscarriage than I did for having my son. The MC cost me 4500 and the birth was only 350. Funny how the insurance and hospitals work isn't it. I also got a major discount for paying the bill before I left the hospital.. but I know it very hard to do in most all cases.. we were just really lucky at that time. Call your insurance company and find out what your coverage is and how many days they will cover for you and the baby and if it a vaginal birth or c-section will cost. I know they usually cover an extra day on c-sections. Good luck and congrats!!

Answer 3

Most insurance companies pay 80% and at that rate, a cost for delivery alone will run you around 300 dollars... I am expected to have a 2nd c-section and after insurance just for the surgery is gonna run me around 800.... not all hospitals are the same... the best thing to do is call and talk to the billing coordinator, and they will have all your info on file and be able to give you a fairly close idea..... of the final bill amount. Even before you have the baby.

Answer 4

My bill was about $4000. Another $1000 for baby. I was in the hospital for 2 days and had LOTS of meds (preeclampsia). Other than the extra meds it was a basic vaginal birth with no complications and a healthy baby. I was actually VERY surprised it was not more. I hope this helps. Good luck

BTW.. this was the bill before the insurance paid. I figured that would be the most helpful. I live in the US.

Answer 5

Well, we do not have health insurance and I recently became pregnant, but then had a miscarriage, so we did look into the cost. For us, we were told for a regular vaginal birth we would need to pay about 3500 up front which includes all of the Dr visits, then the hospital bill was going to be around $14,000. You are very lucky to have 90% of it paid.

Answer 6

My insurance covered EVERYTHING (including 9 months of prenatal care) after a $250 dollar co pay...and I know my bill was over $22,000 for a perfectly normal no complication C Section...and I actually left the hospital a day early!!! That's in California...

My cousin in Ohio...had a normal natural Vag birth and her bill was only $6000 and she had to pay $200 copay...insurance covered the rest.

So It really depends on the hospital and the procedure...I would definatelly check with you plan to see what's covered.

Answer 7

My insurance covers 80%...so i know my estimate for my upcoming delivery was $500. Not so sure what my hospital stay for 2 days will be, though. As long as things go smoothly, and no complications arise, with insurance, the cost should be fairly reasonable. If you are uninsured, most hospitals will work with you on cost as long as you are up front with them, and tell them that you are'nt insured before you deliver. I've heard that they will only bill you .50-.60 cents on the dollar! ( I did my homework, because i was very close to being uninsured with this pregnancy!) Hope this helped.

Answer 8

looking at the bill form the birth of my daughter in 11/06 the total cost was 8,389.00 but ins. took care of the majority leaving only 1,419.57 now that does not cover breast pump rental,revists to the ped. etc. this was a regular birth with all epedi. and 3 days in the hospital. this was actually down about 10% from the birth of my first daughter in 02,

Answer 9

My daughter, 3 1/2 years ago - her TOTAL cost for regular uncomplicated vag delivery was around $11,000.00. That included my 9 months of OB care, the hospital - we both stayed for 2 nights, the epidural/anesthesiologist, the routine lab work & tests they did on her, and her initial pediatrician visit while still in the hospital nursery.
We had insurance, and ultimately paid about $3000.00, insurance covered the rest.

Answer 10

My last baby was totally free. I had an unassisted pregnancy and homebirth with my MIL acting as midwife (she IS a midwife). I don't see why everyone thinks they HAVE to go to a doctor for a normal natural thing. The first three also cost me nothing out of pocket, but it cost the state and my insurance company about $15,000 for the surgical birth alone. I didn't look at the other bills.