baby delivery costs??

[DawnM]

I paid $0, including two C-sections and prenatal care and post natal care.
'98 and '99.

HOWEVER, I don't think this was typical, even then. I just happened to have exceptional insurance. I had friends who had kids around the same time who paid thousands.

So, I don't think this is a "today" vs. "years past" thing.

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.

 

[teambeaman]

When I had my son 3 years ago, I was double insured (through my work and DH's). I paid $125 for my total pregnancy, and I had a C-section. It was a lot more in insurance premiums, but it was worth it to us.

 

[Egdisney]

After the initial confirmation appt, my dr didn't see me until 12 wks. Of course this would be different depending on you risks, etc, but if you got pregnant towards the very end of the year, it wouldn't cost too much in 2014. I am glad I am done having babies, our insurance changed for the worse this year, too. We usually ended up paying 4000 OOP, that is less than our new limit for one person now

 

[sweetdana]

Due to out newest being born in March. Our deductible was hit 2 yrs

Ours was 5K.. so I guess a bit better.. but also worse.. it was closer to 10K..


I was hospitalized with false labor from dehydration (from to much chucking cookies), a few times.. and those were in 2011 (Oct, Nov and Dec. and appointments prior like ultra sound, and testing blood levels with small deductibles.).. then again in 2012 and deliver .. Jan - March..

It starts over annual on 01/01 for us.. so It was back to 1,500$ deductible with our 01/12 bills.. so it was nearly 5K max in 2012.. and it was 5K max in 2012...

Be prepared for 2 yrs of bills if your due date is 01 -06 could happen...

***worth every penny!

 

[Mickeyluver37]

Do you know if your insurance is designated as a High Deductible Healthy Plan? With such a high deductible, I would think that is the type of insurance you have. If you do, you should have an HSA. Also, with a HDHP, you are not allowed to have coordination of benefits, so no, being on two insurance plans would not be allowed.

I had 2 kids in the 90's. Dh was active duty Army. I think they cost me around $20 each.

Child #3 cost us around $5,000. The primary reason we had to pay that much is that my OBGYN sends ONE bill for service. Nothing for the entire 9 months, just one big bill after delivery. Well, when you've already met your deductible, and then have a baby in January, you don't get "credit" for any of that on the prior year. So, we had to pay the entire amount of our deductible, plus 20%. I don't know if this is typical practice. Also after having 2 babies under the military system, I was surprised to get so many bills! They all come from different places- the OBGYN, the anesthesiologist, the hospital, the lab, the pediatrician.

Yes, it's a lot of money, but we've been on a high deductible plan for years now and we are used to it. Once the HSA is funded to a comfortable amount, it easily covers any medical expenses that come up. And we have just become accustomed to that money coming out of DH's check every week. If this is something available to you- start putting money into it now, and you should have what you need when it's time to have a baby.

 

[JediBonas]

Wow, all of this is really making me thankful for the insurance coverage we had. Maternity was covered 100%, so we paid nothing (and I had twins so a lot of dr appointments and a c-section). I can't imagine having to pay so much!

 

[wallawallakids]

I think it is smart of you to look into this and try to plan, but I don't think you can ever be fully prepared for the cost of a child. Unfortunately, our experience with insurance has been that they find exemptions for everything. We ended up having to pay $20,000 after our twins were born due to a delivery complication with my son. He had to be airlifted to another hospital at 24 hours of age. We had a $10,000 OOP detectible but after the airplane fees, NICU fees, etc we still paid $10,000 over that in things that our insurance said were "excluded" or that they paid partial payments of. I am not complaining because having my son here is priceless but we were totally unprepared for the bills that followed. We had a payment plan with the hospital and it did take us almost 2 years to pay it off. (between raising 3 other kids, the cost of having twins, preschool bills for our oldest two, and other physician bills beyond the hospital payments).

I am happy to say we have been debt free for the last 2 years but we are battling our insurance with our son, yet again. This year he was diagnosed with Coats Disease and Amblyopia. He has already had one surgery and is expected to have several more. He also sees a specialist every 3 weeks. We have a different insurance, but we still have the $10,000 detectible and a lot of my son's care happens to fall into the "out of network" category.

I am not trying to be negative but honest. Children are just expensive. I am not sure there is a way to plan for what each will cost because it is so variable. My best advise is to start a savings account and save, save, save.

Money comes and goes, times get tough, but it is those you love that get you through it. It pays to think about your budget, and insurance plan, but know that nothing is better than holding that baby in your arms for the first time. The money is money well spent IMO. Good luck!

 

[KaLyn]

Our insurance was billed around $7,000-$8,000 but luckily we only had to pay $1,500 of that and we did it in monthly payment of $30. It took forever to pay it off but it was interest free so I didn't care.

 

[crisi]

My first was adopted fifteen years ago - and was $16 or $18k. My second was bio and I had full coverage insurance, we never saw a bill. But that was fourteen years ago.

However, I want to warn you - if $8k seems like a lot of money, its a drop in the overall bucket - fifteen years ago daycare for two kids was $1600 a month. Right now I have teenagers who don't drive - so we are in the "cheap stage"- I only needed to spend $1200 for sports this winter. The'll both start driving in the next two years and we will add $500 a month to insurance. If your public schools aren't acceptable, factor in tuition. Our Disney trips cost $2k more in airfare and park tickets than when we were child free. Diapers and formula were $200 a month - again, more than a decade ago. "But I'll breast feed!" Yeah, my daughter didn't latch - then she did - then she said "enough with that, I like a bottle better because I can see the world!" (She really hasn't changed since the day she was born). My son is fifteen and active - half the grocery bill is feeding him. I'm not saying they aren't worth it, but children on one of those things that you think "they'll be cheaper when they are out of diapers" and then discover that there is just something else you pay for - they never get cheaper - daycare costs turn into saving for college. Diaper costs become fees for pee wee football. You wonder if all children go through four pairs of tennis shoes a year. You'll figure out a way to afford it, but it will be expensive.

 

[cvjw]

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.

My oldest DS cost us $10 in 1996. I shudder to think what he would cost us now. I agree about how unfair it is for some to get everything for free, while taxes go up for the rest of us to foot the bill. When I had younger DS in 1999, we were the only family on the whole maternity ward who was married and had insurance, and the ward was so full that they had to put me in an overflow area.

 

[Pooh2]

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.

Agree! My heart goes out to these young adults who are starting out their families!

My twins with a csection and extended hospital stay cost me a $5 copay. We lost our great insurance in 2011 as well.

Good luck to the parents to-be!

 

[Disflyer]

Our youngest is 16 months so we aren't that far removed. We have a similar plan as OP 750 deduct per person in our family with a 6k out of pocket max at 80/20.

Our cost breakdown was as follows.

- 150 initial OB payment (this covered all maternity care, each apt and ultra sound plus routine tests)
(Wife had a scheduled c-section and stayed in the hospital for 4 days.)
- $1,400 for the delivery
- $250 for hospital stay
- $300 for drugs
- $1200 for the doctor
- Anesthesiologist $400

Total cost for mom out of pocket $3,700

Baby (only had to pay for her doctor ~$300)

Combined out of pocket $4,000 on a total hospital bill of $17,000

Point is that it sounds like a lot but realistically you will have to have a total hospital bill of over $40,000 to hit your out of pocket max. On our fist we hit that easily wife had an emergency c section and our daughter was in the NICU for 10 days.

It sounds like a lot but if you have a goal of saving $200 per week of your pregnancy you'll have it all saved by the time of your birth and this is worst case scenario for you, think of it as a practice child care payment (if you don't decide to stay at home, kids are expensive)

 

[Southernmiss]

It sounds like a lot but if you have a goal of saving $200 per week of your pregnancy you'll have it all saved by the time of your birth and this is worst case scenario for you, think of it as a practice child care payment (if you don't decide to stay at home, kids are expensive)

Yep. And when you think your done with diapers and childcare, save that too because the teen years are even more EXPENSIVE--driving, insurance, school fees for everything, clothing, activity fees and expenses, food, College. The list goes on and on.

We are as broke now with teens as we were with babies.

 

[Jaime4004]

I paid $0, including two C-sections and prenatal care and post natal care.
'98 and '99.

HOWEVER, I don't think this was typical, even then. I just happened to have exceptional insurance. I had friends who had kids around the same time who paid thousands.

So, I don't think this is a "today" vs. "years past" thing.

Darn, I thought I was going to win this one. DD (10) costs us $5. The other two (ages 5 and 8) weren't much more. Even with a 2 week NICU stay. We now have a high deductible plan though, so my baby-making days are over

 

[mommy2allyandaveri]

In 2003 and 2006 I paid $0, each was a c-section.

I still have the same insurance but it has changed a bit. I currently have the middle of the road plan and would pay $100 for my admission, that's it. There is a higher plan that I might choose if I were going to have another baby. If I had the higher plan I would pay $0.

 

[Megkel]

Wow I cannot believe how much it costs to have a baby with insurance!

Eight years ago I had my first daughter. When she was born my insurance (through my Dad) dropped me because I did not sign up for the Spring semester for college even though I had completed the fall and she was born the first week of Feb. I called to set up a payment plan with the hospital and they wrote off my hospital visit (I was there less than 12 hours) and the drugs. My daughter was in NICU for four days which they either wrote off or the insurance paid for I can't remember. I had to pay the doctor out of pocket $5,000. I also had some other bills for testing and another bill for $500 but I cannot remember what for right now. I probably paid $6,000-$6,500 all together.

This time around I am on Tricare so thankfully I do not have any out of pocket expenses.

I would assume you can have two insurances. When I fill out my paperwork they always ask if I have another insurance. I would guess they bill the first insurance and then bill the second for whatever the first wouldn't cover.

 

[Irin997]

I'm currently due in April and have only paid $60 total so far, and shouldn't have to pay anything else. The 1st $30 copay was for my initial midwife appt/visit and the 2nd was for our NT scan at 12 weeks.

I have amazing insurance though and they cover maternity benefits 100% after those two copays, including newborn care.

Also, they will cover my breast pump which is an insurance branded Medela Pump In Style that should go for around $250-$300, which is fantastic. Of course, I think all insurance companies now cover a breast pump, and there are a couple different options to choose from.

 

[wallawallakids]

I'm not saying they aren't worth it, but children on one of those things that you think "they'll be cheaper when they are out of diapers" and then discover that there is just something else you pay for - they never get cheaper - daycare costs turn into saving for college. Diaper costs become fees for pee wee football. You wonder if all children go through four pairs of tennis shoes a year. You'll figure out a way to afford it, but it will be expensive.

SO TRUE!!!!! It's amazing how it adds up as they get older. Soccer, ballet, piano lessons, college savings accounts, clothing, shoes, food!! Oh my, the FOOD!! My son is just 10 and he already can eat a whole pizza in one serving and he is already 5ft 3!! He just keeps growing and eating. My husband and I were thinking the other day about how at some point we will have 4 teenager at home at once I don't even want to think about our monthly food bill then, it is expensive enough now!

 

[bethy]

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.

It's pretty hard to pay for all the amazing and quality healthcare we get with just $20.

OP, yes having a baby in a hospital, especially with anesthesia, and with 9 months of excellent healthcare preceding that costs a lot. We had to plan accordingly as well and also make payments after the fact to cover the final bill.

And with kids, those bills were just the beginning . . . kids are EXPENSIVE.

 

[bethy]

My first was adopted fifteen years ago - and was $16 or $18k. My second was bio and I had full coverage insurance, we never saw a bill. But that was fourteen years ago.

However, I want to warn you - if $8k seems like a lot of money, its a drop in the overall bucket - fifteen years ago daycare for two kids was $1600 a month. Right now I have teenagers who don't drive - so we are in the "cheap stage"- I only needed to spend $1200 for sports this winter. The'll both start driving in the next two years and we will add $500 a month to insurance. If your public schools aren't acceptable, factor in tuition. Our Disney trips cost $2k more in airfare and park tickets than when we were child free. Diapers and formula were $200 a month - again, more than a decade ago. "But I'll breast feed!" Yeah, my daughter didn't latch - then she did - then she said "enough with that, I like a bottle better because I can see the world!" (She really hasn't changed since the day she was born). My son is fifteen and active - half the grocery bill is feeding him. I'm not saying they aren't worth it, but children on one of those things that you think "they'll be cheaper when they are out of diapers" and then discover that there is just something else you pay for - they never get cheaper - daycare costs turn into saving for college. Diaper costs become fees for pee wee football. You wonder if all children go through four pairs of tennis shoes a year. You'll figure out a way to afford it, but it will be expensive.

This is spot on! But it's worth every penny. And it's just part of life and you get through it as a family. Some way, some how.