baby delivery costs??

[JennyLynn21]

Hi Disers,
I need some help. I was not sure which board to post on so if this is not the right one feel free to move. This may be a long post.

My husband and I have decided to start looking at our finances and our insurance coverage for having our first baby.

We get insurance through my husbands work and we get Cigna. After looking at everything we realize the baby will cost us $8,000. Which I know a baby is priceless and I know we will be blessed if we are able to conceive. I am just shocked by this amount and feel so unprepared. Does this seem like the normal price? Does this seem normal that we have insurance and will be paying $8,000?

We have a mortgage and one car payment. The other car we will keep as long as we can but it is getting up there in age. We have about $2,000 in credit card debit that we will be able to get rid of in 6 months at the most. We have about 14,000 in savings and continue to contribute to that each month. We had hopes that when we had the baby I would be able to stay home from work more and only work Saturday and Sundays. I am currently a manager at a salon and would limit myself to just styling my regulars on the weekends.

My work does offer insurance through blue care network. Are you allowed to have two insurances? Can I stay on my husbands and then also get on the one at work, and between the two of them should it be more affordable for us? Or is that not allowed. My work has open enrollment in March, so would I be able to get on that insurance then, and then just cancel off of my husbands?

It's all confusing. And I don't mean to complain, however it makes me so frustrated to know people who don't make much money and have their kids and the state pays everything for them (with my taxes) which I am totally fine with. People who need help deserve. But it's very frustrating that My husband & I work very hard and we are by no means rich, but we are in a high enough bracket that we get NO help, and pay for our own insurance and STILL have to pay $8,000 to have a child. I don't get it. People who work the hardest don't get much in return!

Just a vent, I am not trying to offend anybody. I was just hoping somebody could help me with my insurance confusion and perhaps help me out. We are obviously going to have children no matter what, we will pay bills off the rest of our lives if we have to.

 

[RooRach0906]

Is 8,000 your out of pocket max for the family or individual? Im kinda assuming that is where you are getting your number from.

 

[RooRach0906]

To give you an idea though I think our insurance at the time which was 3 and 1/2 years ago, we were charged around 4,000 but the hospital were we delivered at, when we called about the bill they cut us a break since we paid in full then rather than a payment plan. So I think it ended up being around 3,300. That is not including any prenatal visits or ultra sounds that is delivery and hospital stay.

 

[JennyLynn21]

RachelRoo I called tonight to speak to my insurance company and this is how she explained it to me..

Our deductible is 3,000. So we must first pay that. Then our insurance kicks into to do 80/20. Then when it gets to be $8,000 they will start paying 100%. I asked if that was the normal for it to reach $8,000 and she said 'Oh yeah, be prepared to pay $8,000 even for a normal healthy natural delivery '. However that covers everything, like the appointments before, ultrasounds, and also baby's costs. Does that makes sense?

 

[wannagoback]

Do you have a high deductible plan? We do, and I would assume that another child would cost about that much for us. However, we also have a health savings account to accompany it and we have sufficient savings in there to cover the high deductible. Is that an option you have? At least then you get the tax benefit of the saving account (we contribute to ours monthly via payroll deduction).

 

[QVCshopper]

I think your husband should talk to his HR Benefits department (if there is one). Also, does each person have a deductible? I had my toddler in 2012. I think both I and she met our deductibles and then they starting contributing. I forget exactly, but I know we owed about $2k after delivery (regular delivery, no doctor in the room even) and I also paid a few minimal blood test co-pays, etc. before that. When I had my first in 2004, insurance covered everything, so a lot has changed. Good luck!

 

[sahmoftwo]

We also had to max out the deductible before insurance kicked in....I had a C-section so the hospital deposit actually maxed that out...then every single doctor who ever glances at you charges a separate bill so we reached the max out of pocket. Then your baby will have their own bills from the doctors who look at them in the hospital. We have 3 kids so totally worth it obviously Our youngest is 7 months so it seems like just yesterday all the bills came rolling in. It wasn't so bad though b/c we paid a bit at a time...like my OB had all of his portion paid by the time I was 7 months along, and then the hospital had to be pre-paid, and then the individual bills. It's not like you just hand over all $8000 at once if that makes sense.

 

[JennyLynn21]

It was not that high of a deductible, we only got two options. The other option had a higher deductible I believe. Before this year our deductible was $600. With all the changes this is what we get. We decided to wait a year to get more financially ready and it turns out to bite us in the butt!!

We did just sign up for a health savings account and that is new to me, Can you tell me about it? I know we contributed $500 to it, and his employer will add $1,000 to is. I know we can roll it over to the following year, but what to you mean by tax benefit?

Also our insurance rep told me that if I get pregnant at the end of this year I will have to pay working towards my deductible, and then if I deliver in 2015, I have to start paying towards my deductible all over again in 2015 working towards the $3,000 before they kick in. So basically pay the deductible twice.

 

[JennyLynn21]

....but they made sure to tell me they cover $100 the price of a breastpump. Which is nice, but kinda a penny drop in the bucket thing ya know?

 

[AprilRenee]

It was not that high of a deductible, we only got two options. The other option had a higher deductible I believe. Before this year our deductible was $600. With all the changes this is what we get. We decided to wait a year to get more financially ready and it turns out to bite us in the butt!!

We did just sign up for a health savings account and that is new to me, Can you tell me about it? I know we contributed $500 to it, and his employer will add $1,000 to is. I know we can roll it over to the following year, but what to you mean by tax benefit?

Also our insurance rep told me that if I get pregnant at the end of this year I will have to pay working towards my deductible, and then if I deliver in 2015, I have to start paying towards my deductible all over again in 2015 working towards the $3,000 before they kick in. So basically pay the deductible twice.

You probably won't hit your deductible if you get pregnant at the end of this year. I had a baby in April 2012 so I had to pay some dr bills in 2011 but that was like $150-200 for an ultrasound and some other odds and ends things...maybe a total of $500 for the whole year between pregnancy stuff and other non-related things. My OB put her whole charge at the end with the delivery so all those office visits etc got charged in 2012 so went toward my deductible with the delivery. I had a c-section and the surgery alone (not anastesia or dr charges or room stay) but just the surgery was $20,000 before insurance. The day I got that bill I swore I'd never complain about my insurance costs again! lol
My deductible was $3,000 and once I hit it I was covered (no co-insurance...the 80/20% thing). My son had about $300-400 toward his deductible so in total in 2012 I had to pay $3400 ish. The hospital let me do a payment plan and my payments were about $150 a month so not too bad.

 

[mhambrick]

Having a baby is expensive!! I just had my son Dec 10th, he is my 3rd and I was still shocked by the cost. My deductible was $500in/$1000family then 10% coinsurance after that. As far as charges, I had a normal ******l birth with no complications and the cost of the delivery room before insurance was $8000, OB charges were $3000, nursery(even though he only spend about an Hour total there and this included his circumcision ) charges $2000. I did not make it to the hospital in time to get and epidural so that saved a few thousand off the bill as well. This also does not include my 2 ultrasounds and bloodwork during the pregnancy, luckily all my visits were during 2013 so I only had to meet the deductible once. I also get upset knowing that some get to go have baby after baby and come out not owing a dime when my husband and I work so hard, it just doesn't seem fair. Good luck with everything, having a baby truly changes your life in an awesome way. My baby boy is sleeping in my arms as I write this

 

[teller80]

Is that $3000 deductible per person? If so, it'll be $3000 for you and then $3000 for the baby. Plus the 80/20.

And yes, you can have two insurances.

And yes, it sucks when you make just above the level of where assistance kicks in.

 

[tar heel]

Babies are a huge profit area for hospitals -- that's why you see so much advertising. It might be worth price checking standard labor and delivery.

You also can save a lot of money by going the no anesthesia route, but I don't think you should have to make that decision based on finances.

 

[marius97]

I'm SOOOO glad we had our last DS8 before insurance became so ridiculously expensive DW works for the state and we've always had great insurance. His $150,000 birth cost us only $300. After that experience, I understand how medical bills can bankrupt people.

 

[kymom99]

I paid $20 to have my baby....in 1999. Can't believe the turn health care has taken in 14 years. It's very sad.

 

[lucyem]

We paid about $8,000 12 years ago (no drugs, in hospital with nurse midwife, no complications). Our insurance decided not to cover most of it and is still in a class action lawsuit because they did the same thing to many people. All I remember was my husband being told that I was not authorized to give birth as the hospital was admitting me in labor This was after they covered nine months of prenatal care.

I have read more and more articles telling people to shop around for any medical procedures. Costs can vary so widely even in the same city. So when shopping for a doctor or midwife also check into where you will be giving birth and the costs involved.

Or do what my in-laws did. Drive to Canada. (yes they really did)

 

[Gracie09]

It cost me about $750 to have my daughter. That's including the copays to the various doctors (I was high risk thanks to preeclampsia) and the oop delivery cost. Quite a bargain IMO since the birth and subsequent time in the hospital came in at just over. $130,000. It's expensive to have a nicu stay

 

[ancestry]

I have four biological kids (last two are twins with a complicated/high risk pregnancy and NICU stays for the one twin) I never paid more than several hundred dollars out-of-pocket for each one and we have had various plans over the years. It really depends on your insurance plan.

Original poster - in my opinion (compared to what we have) you have a high deductible insurance plan. If I was to get pregnant today my out of pocket costs for everything (not counting prescriptions) would be about $215 (We have a $200 out of pocket maximum per family and my first pregnancy office office visit has a $15 co-pay with all office visits afterwards covered in full).

My job offers several different plans. We carry the one that provides the greatest coverage with minimal out of pocket costs. We do have an 80/20 plan available but I would never select that plan for the year that I was planning on having a baby. Plus once you have a child your insurance costs go up as you are billed for a family plan. The increased cost can be significant.

It really comes down to what your insurance plan covers.

 

[auralia]

I can give you the cost for my two births excluding all the care leading up to the birth.

For my daughter who was an emergency c section due to being breech and 6 weeks early. She spent 6 days in the hospital to gain weight as well. My C section was 38000$ and then her care was about 7000$ please mind her care was me caring for her as she was in my room most of the time.

For my son he was an induction with an epideral and the total cost for hospital and birth was 8300$ and this included my sons care.

Those two figures were the amount of the bill not what I paid. My dh is in the military for baby one I paid about 150$ oop for tests that were not covered and for baby 2 i paid 100$ oop.

Also each visit with the doctor ran between 300 and 600$ before insurance (also covered by military insurance). So figure one visit per month until month 8 then every two weeks and then every week by the end. Ultrasounds ran about 500-800$ depending sometimes less. If you have complications there are more appointments and more ultrasounds which ups the costs and if your baby is early or needs the NICU (my dd was in the regular nursery as she was breathing fine just needed her to weigh more than 5lbs) the costs skyrocket.

Aim to have your pregnancy all in one year or have the first 3-4 months in one year and the rest in the next year. Those first few visits will only cost about 1200 total if there are no complications and you skip the 12 week nuchal fold measuring ultrasound.

Also important .... where you live, prices in New York will be higher then these... I am in Georgia.

 

[Jedimom]

Are you open to homebirth or birth center? It's not for everyone, but it's an option I thought I'd throw out there.

I used a Certified Nurse Midwife and birth center for my second (now 11) and I want to think it was under $3000 total including OB visit (one visit required under state law for midwife assisted birth), all prenatal care, tests, and ultrasound. We never had insurance so just paid cash.

For my third and fourth (ages below) I used a lay midwife and had homebirths. Cost was $1800-$2000 for the midwife, which covered all of the basic testing. I had to spend a few hundred outside of the midwife for OB visits and ultrasounds.