Truly, how expensive is it to have a baby in the United States? I interviewed three different women that had all different experiences when having their babies. To keep my information widespread, I made sure the background of each person was very different. However, their geographical areas and timeline are very similar
Jane Doe #1 was insured by Medicaid. She had two babies within the last 5 years. Her first child had a 4-day NICU stay due to complications. The price of birth and stay for both mother and baby were a whopping $89,000. Her secondborn was a routine birth with no complications. The cost for the mother and baby for her second child was $20,000. Jane Doe #1 did not pay anything out of pocket due to her Medicaid status.
Jane Doe #2 paid for private medical insurance. Insurance was not offered by her or her husband’s jobs. They paid $1100 per month alone to be covered by insurance. She has had one baby in the last 5 years. This baby was considered a routine birth with no added complications. The price of her birth was $20,000. Insurance did not cover a total of $6,900. This is what was left for the family to pay for. This insurance also denied the payment of shots for her newborn, which is another 1,200 dollars. Since having her baby, her private insurance dropped from $1,100 to $800 per month. (Not birth related but I had to throw this in there.)
Jane Doe #3 was on a state’s version of Medicaid. Her insurance was free through the state. She has had one baby in the past 5 years. The birth was a routine birth. However, the baby had an anatomical condition that needed more overseeing. The total cost for mother and baby was a high amount of $300,000. Insurance only covered 75% of the total value. Leaving behind an amount of $75,000 for the family to pay. A few things are interesting to note, there was a fee for simply just choosing this hospital equivalent to $35,000. She was also charged an extra $300 for checking into the emergency room even though she was shipped to the labor and delivery floor. Also, not birth related but… WHAT?
So, what did you notice?
I noticed a few things.
There is no capped limit for the price of healthcare. We value our healthcare professionals, but the United States has the highest-priced healthcare in the world. Get this, The United States spends significantly more on healthcare compared to other nations but does not have better healthcare outcomes (Peter G. Peterson, 2023). Keep in mind that the U.S. maternal mortality rate exceeds the rates in other high-income countries. The U.S. maternal mortality rate is exceptionally high for Black women. It is more than double the average rate and nearly three times higher than the rate for white women (Gunja, 2022). Wake up America, maternal-related deaths are rising.
There is no capped amount for private insurance coverage OR no capped amount for pregnancy insurance coverage. There is no reason why a middle-class family of three should have to pay $1,100 for insurance a month only to pay $6,900 more out of pocket. This is not insurance people! This type of coverage is equivalent to a health savings account!
There is no capped amount for pharmaceuticals. There are single tablets of Tylenol on record for costing $15 per pill at the hospital. (Gelman, 2022) While on target.com one bottle of 500 is $7.99. Want your doctors and nurses to wear gloves? That costs each patient on average $5,141 per patient stay (Gelman, 2022). I understand that medical centers need to make a profit, but it’s clear that the up charging of supplies is almost comical and slightly enraging. BUT HEY! WE’RE PAYING IT!
Cesarean sections and vaginal deliveries are the most common hospital stay in the USA. However, I do not find it ironic that healthcare companies are preying on middle-class Americans that want to have children. This is sadly pushing young people away from having kids altogether.
It’s time to start asking why young couples are choosing to no longer have children.
We. Need. Healthcare. Reform.
Ours. Is. Broken.
WORKS CITED
Gelman, L. (2022, March 30). 10 Wildly Overinflated Hospital Costs You Didn’t Know About. Retrieved from The Healthy: A Readers Digest Brand: https://www.thehealthy.com/healthcare/health-insurance/wildly-overinflated-hospital-costs/
Gunja, M. Z. (2022, December 1). The U.S. Maternal Mortality Crisis Continues to Worsen: An International Comparison. Retrieved from The Commonwealth Fund: https://www.commonwealthfund.org/blog/2022/us-maternal-mortality-crisis-continues-worsen-international-comparison
Peter G. Peterson. (2023, July 14). WHY ARE AMERICANS PAYING MORE FOR HEALTHCARE? Retrieved from Peter G. Peterson Foundation: https://www.pgpf.org/blog/2023/07/why-are-americans-paying-more-for-healthcare
