Will the Hospital keep my baby's Birth Certificate until we pay?

Question

I know this is probably a dumb question, but i really don't know.

My baby's due Feb 2nd & since we don't have insurance we are paying for the hospital bill, however i thought i had to pay the whole bill when my baby was born & that if i didn't i wouldn't be able to take my baby home, lol.

i now know that we can make monthly payments for as long as we need to, but will the hospital keep my baby's birth certificate until we pay the bill completely?

I called and asked but the lady who answered was INCREDIBLY rude & i regret not asking her name.. She was a real b*tch!! We can pay but it would be easier if we had more time than Feb 2nd, considering that we don't know how much it will be.. Ugh.. ok this last paragraph was just me being mad..

Thanx For your answers & for listening =]

God Bless

The lady said they were holding on to some papers, not sure what though..... ??

I realize now that this isn't just a ''dumb'' question but an INCREDIBLY dumb one, lol. Thanx for your answers!! & for not being rude!!

God Bless!!

Answer 1

First of all congratulations, you will have a wonderful new baby to welcome to the world soon.

You will actually get the baby's birth certificate from the state in which you reside.

The hospital cannot hold it until the bill is paid.

I am sorry to hear that you were spoken to in such a mean and rude manner. If you can get the persons name who treated you poorly, she should be reported to her supervisor.
If you know when you called and what number or extension you used, it should be easy to find out who the person was.

No one should be discriminated against in a hospital setting based on the fact that they are not insured, millions of people are not insured, do not be embarrassed.

Don't get upset over things like this, no matter what is going on in your life, you stress can affect the baby so think calm thoughts and be happy.

The hospital will bill you, and I know that they will work out a payment plan for you, so that you do not have to pay it all at once.

God bless you and your baby, and the rest of your family.

Edit: please remember, no question is dumb when you
need an answer.

Answer 2

To be honest, there is nothing that they can do if you are making some form of payment. They can't even send it to a collection agency, even if you are only paying $5 a month. As for the birth certificate, the hospital fills it out and sends it to the state. After that you have to file with the state to get it. The only thing the hospital does is fill in the blanks and mail it. If they don't do this they are tampering with state records and can get in serious trouble. (As far is the state is concerned a birth certificate is just a document proving you were born. They use it to keep track of babies born in their state.) Some hospitals will give you discounts if you can pay up front, but if yours doesn't I would just pay monthly or pay what you can when you can. That baby is going to cost you alot of money outside the hospital bill and you don't want to stretch yourself to thin. You can also see if your hospital has a charity service. Most of them do. The hospital that I gave birth to my son at had all women fill out the app for a donation from their charity department. Although these don't normally cover the whole bill, they can take a huge chunk out of it. Good luck and congrats!

Answer 3

I had to pay for the birth of my first child without insurance. No fun, but she's worth it. Just pray you don't get any complications.

The hospital may set you up on a payment plan, check with them.

In any event, I believe the hospital is legally required to submit a live birth certificate to the local county government in a timely fashion, whether you pay or not. Once the county has it, you can order an official copy for $20 or so.

Note that I live in King County in Washington, different states and counties will have different legal requirements and different fee structures, but pretty much all state and county governments want a good paper trail for each and every citizen, and that starts with birth certificates. The hospital will not be allowed to stand in the way of the paper trail.

Answer 4

If you do not have insurance I am worried. Are you getting prenatal care? Have you called the local family services and asked for help? Most states will at least cover the pregnancy and baby's first few years. Also, check with Health Department for WIC. If these don't work, ask hospital if they are a county hospital. if they are, ask them to waive part of bill. they can cut off part of bill depending on your annual income. You can set up payments with the hospital. Just make sure to pay regularly so they don't send it to collections. I do hope you will check with family services first, tho. It is the tax dollars you have paid in when working that pays for it, so don't let your pride get in the way. just do what is best for baby.

Answer 5

the nurses that deliver your baby do not know you do not have insurance. They are the ones that hand you this little packet of information that tells you how to obtain a social security card and birth certificate . SO no they do not withold the birth certificate. In reality there is a good amount of people that bill their own insurance companies after they recieve the bill, so they have no way of knowing how you plan on doing things. No one will keep your baby or the certificate... they will just bill you and annoy you and send you to collections if you dont pay.

Answer 6

You should be able to get the birth certificate from the county court house. they are not usually that expensive and you can get them when ever you need one once it has been filed by the hospital. Paying the hospital bill in full should not have any effect on you getting a birth certificate.

Answer 7

I hope this happened in the United States! Some countries keep the baby untill the bill is payed, for real. I din`t see what state you are in but you should check if there is a cenes or a dept that keeps that kind of record. Florida is a good example. Any military Hospital should be able to give you contact info. Good luck.

Answer 8

sweetheart, this question is not at all dumb, and no the hospital will not keep ur baby's birth certificate. ask them for the hospital's copy, and that one will be good for (5 yrs.) and b-4 the child starts kindergarten, u'll just have to go to court house in the county where the baby was born and get the real one made in order for the child to start real school. CONGRATULATIONS ON UR NEW ARRIVAL, AND I REALLY DO HOPED THAT WAS HELPFUL

Answer 9

You get a paper in the hospital that you fill out when you get home and send it to the county. They want ti sent along with a payment. My daughter finally got around to getting her baby daughters almost a year later. You have all the time in the world to get it, unless you need it for her school or insurance benefits. Its like under $25.00 I think. Theres no time limit on when you can get it.

Answer 10

It's like any other bill, you can make payments, call the hospitals billing dept. and set up a pay plan...you, your baby and the birth statement will all go home together...they will give you an info packet for obtaining the birth certificate.
Congrats!