Childbirth and 8 days hospital stay for my wife & kid was about $2,000, what's the cost in America?

I'm just curious since I've been out of the country so long, and having heard so much about the astronomical costs of medical care these days I was wondering just how much it costs an uninsured American to have their child delivered.

I've heard anywhere from $10,000 up and very few estimates south of that, is that correct? Is it also correct that they send Mother and baby home within a day or two? I find that really hard to wrap my head around, my wife was scheduled to stay for the normal seven days but was ordered an extra day of recuperation due of toxemia, the delivery was NOT very easy to say the least and my daughter was in the incubator for about a half a day afterwards.

Anyway, not to get too into personal details but the bill for us was, all told (private room for the three of us, baby delivery, staff, food (not for me though), etc...) around $2,000 before we got reimbursed for it, what's the situation in America?

If you have a health insurance plan that pays 80% of costs with a deductible of $4,000, then your bill is...

... $7,200, which coincidentally happens to be very close to the per capita cost of total health care expenditures inside the US.

in this god forsaken socialist, communist country. (Austria)

I'm sure in Austria, health insurance is not contingent upon employment, is it?

They have a $4,000 deductible!

That's unimaginable to me.

Our $2,000 was reimbursed 100%, but in some cases people might have to pay as much as a 20% co-pay on that (our city offers excellent supplemental insurance for children so we paid zero, but that's not so everywhere), but even so the maximum outlay here would be around $400.

It stuns me that the DEDUCTIBLE is actual ten times the maximum co-pay in Japan (of course it could be more in some cases, but still!).

For many people, even that isn't possible. The statistics are stunning. Of all the people who declared bankruptcy due to medical emergencies, 2/3rds of them HAD insurance, but it didn't stop them from depleting their savings and assets anyway because the insurance company wouldn't cover all the costs.

So you pay like $ 957 a month for insurance. But you are not able to make deductions for that, unless certain other specifics are met.

You pull money out of retirmenet funds - you are probably gonna pay a penalty for pulling the money out plus Federal taxes. There are not any contingencies that say that you get a break from either the penalties or the taxes due to your medical emergency.

Just changing the tax codes and the retirement system would be helpful. But I doubt that will happen any more than what is really needed

Single Payer Universal Health Care For All!!

Even when I had a job, 7,200 would basically wipe out my disposable income for the entire year after taxes, utilities, rent, student loan bills, food, and gas. The deductible for prescription drugs was much lower, but I couldn't afford coverage with a low deductible for prescriptions and for hospital stays, so I had to cut one.

Sadly, the under-insured are not heard often enough in the health care debate. They're the ones getting fucked over by under-regulated for-profit health insurance companies.

One spinal tap
One crash cart usage (went into respiratory arrest)
3 days of IV/antibiotics with normal care

Are you still paying that off??

Insurance covered most of the bill. My parents paid the rest (I was only 17 at the time).

I delivered at about 3 am and went home from the hospital the same day. The normal here is one or two days. No one goes for 7 unless there are serious complications. Often they send the mom home and keep the baby if there are problems, even if it is just a few days. A 7 day stay? I think it would cost easily $20,000..NICU (neonatal icu) is about $2,000 per day and if the mom is still in the hospital that's got to hit $20K.

Holy crap! That is just so wrong!!

How can a recovering Mother get back and forth to see (never mind FEED!) the baby!?

Yikes.

Not quite so recent lostnfound, but thanks for the congrats in any case (she's still a little one, but getting bigger every day!).

I had a c-section and was released after 3 days. It is difficult leaving your child so soon after birth.
That was in 1978, so it is not new, my insurance did not cover my son until after I was released, he was not officially a dependent and covered until then.
Average stay today for normal birth is about two days.

I'm so sorry you had to go through that!

WHY on earth would the separate a Mother from her child?

I can understand if the kid is in serious trouble and has to be cared for for weeks or months, but how can they not accommodate both for the period of childbirth and for a reasonable amount of recuperation time afterwards? (1-2 days is not reasonable, it's inhumane!)

Is this typical in most countries? I must admit, I'm only familiar with Japan since that's the only place I've ever had a child.

is probably one of the only ones that would do that. Though I don't know. It's all about the bottom line here. Congress folks get to stay in the hospital a month for something minor, but the rest of us get pushed out the door like it's a fast food restaurant and there are other customers waiting.

because it was surgery. My son was not considered a dependent until I was released, then they covered the rest of his stay.
Not all plans had coverage for maternity back then, you had a good one.

that the average cost of just a hospital room in Oklahoma was $875 three years ago.

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20070303120400AAwoG62

I would guess that it would be in excess of $1,000 by now.

A clue on doctors' fees here:

http://www.bubhub.com.au/community/forums/showthread.php?p=3164600

$5,000 for the doctor (last year). (Plus $100 per pre-natal visit? Not sure from the way that reads.)

Kinda wish I had though (can't imagine $100 per visit for the life of me! I'd certainly have remembered in any case. if it was $20, that would seem more reasonable and likely).

I had my son on Saturday morning and we went home the following Monday at noon.

We'd have gone home on Sunday, probably, but my husband insisted on circumcision.

They like to get you out of there fast.

they'd have you out of there in no time. secondly, even though it would be less time in hospital, it would probably run you ten times what it cost you over there. I know for a fact that when I go in to the local hospital to have my baby here in the next couple of days, I will have to pay the difference for a private room if I want a bathroom instead of having to walk down the hall to use the bathroom like I ended up doing for my first child. The last time we paid the difference and i 'splurged' on a room with the bathroom. But bob and I got a 'last dinner' which was very nice of them. I believe that was the only time my daughter was anywhere near the nursery the whole time I was there. My doctor tried to talk me into staying another day, but I said NO! but the nurses will be here to help you, she said. to which i replied that my baby had been in my room with me the whole time, so what's the difference if I go home?? I went in right after I put my oldest on the bus at about 8:30am, had Ashley at about 1pm and I think I went home the next afternoon. I just wanted out of that hospital.

for many...

"Normal" in this country is the time it takes you to deliver, wake up and get out. And I guarantee it costs a whole lot more than $2,000.

and considering the condition of all the Mom's out there who just delivered, I can't really fathom how they can go home after only a day or two.

Is this medically okay? Do doctors in America sign off on this for some reason?

I can only speak from my own experience, but my wife in day two was still a wreck, tired, sick (nauseous and weak) and injured and in need of help from the nurses often. How is it they send these women home!?

it's an earth-shattering event. I know many women who are in and out within 24 hours and I don't know how they do it.

If it was an uncomplicated birth, the last place you want to be with the little ne is in a hospital, filled with MRSA. Home is a much safer place.

That having been said, the cost IS outrageous. When I found out that we got to pay TWO deductibles (one for mom, one for new baby) I got pissed. And then to find out that it was a $500 deductible for me to get a vasectomy afterwards! Stupid insurance companies. Getting snipped SAVES them money. You would think they would be offering it for free.

That being said, my MIL is a retired labor and delivery nurse, I'm a medical student, my husband is an EMT and I can see the hospital from my house. So we're, um, pretty much covered should something go awry. But all of that does factor into my feelings.

I don't have kids yet, but I hate hospitals, they are full of germs and noise and it's impossible to get any rest there. Regardless of what I was in for (baby, surgery, other medical treatment) I would want to leave at the absolute earliest safe time. Assuming a normal delivery in the morning I would push to be released to go home that night and rest in my own bed (well as much rest as you can get with a newborn haha).

for serious infections hospitals are. Wow - they charged a deductible for the baby? That's astonishing. Screwed by the insurance companies from the first breath onward.

you are out of luck.

My sis-in-law had to pay a huge deposit for the epidural and the care before the delivery. Yes, they have wonderful insurance, the hospital and doctor required the up front payments.

Statistics here: http://www.hesonline.nhs.uk/Ease/servlet/ContentServer?siteID=1937&categoryID=1040 ; historic in Table 18a, by method of onset of labour and method of delivery in Table 20

Back in 1975, for all births, 4-6 days was the median. By 1990, it was 2 to 3; by now, 55% of women are out the same day, or after 1 day. Those staying in 2 days or more tend to be Caesarians.

Remember, many people prefer being at home than in a hospital.

For comparison, in France, these 2 articles say 3 days is a typical stay:
http://brittany.angloinfo.com/information/2/birth.asp
http://www.management-issues.com/2009/1/12/blog/supermum-antics-spark-maternity-leave-row.asp

Mom brought him home after staying in the hospital one night. My father was a doctor who worked there. It was walking distance from where we lived.

seven days post-partum.

It's just dumb. In the US, most women who deliver in the hospital leave with their child on the second day after delivery. You need one day for observation and testing after delivery, then another observation on the morning of release. And that's all you really need. The notion that you should stay in the hospital for a week after delivery is, quite frankly, stupid. It's completely unnecessary.

a surgery I had the day after he was born. Believe me, the floor nurses all talked about it too, how lucky I was to have the rest etc. Now it's pretty much the norm around here for Mom and babies to be released in 24 hours or less. My daughter had some complications 10 yrs ago when she had her daughter. She was still released less than 24 hours after giving birth. If you give birth at midnight, chances are you're out of there by the next afternoon. My daughter in law didn't even spend 24 hours in the hospital, including labor, birth and the stay when she had her babies.

Some babies do get jaundice after being brought home. I remember a friend of mine telling me when it happened to one of her grandbabies a day or so after bringing the baby home from the hospital.

You're released 24-48 hours after childbirth. C-section, 3-4 days.

should drop by the mall on the way home. It was El Paso Texas in August, so staying in the car was not an option, I had to grab the baby and follow him in, every step feeling like my staples would pop and my insides would be laid bare on the cold marble floors.

I kicked his ass to the curb three months later.

No sarcasm here

depending on the hospital and how much medication was administered.

I find posts like this amusing because they look only at one aspect of the issue. The $2,000 could not possibly come close to covering the actual expenses incurred by the hospital.

Eight days is not necessary for an uncomplicated childbirth. I hope you aren't having serious problems.

but bear in mind that Japan doesn't waste most of citizens' tax dollars on the military and wars of choice like the U.S. does. We have the money available for single-payer, but it's going to the military/wars, and will probably continue to do so for the foreseeable future.

just like when you pay fire insurance and never have a fire-of-your-own.. you ARE paying for other people's fires:)

As I wrote up there, seven days is completely common here. We were "scheduled" for the seven days before the toxemia even came up.

Also, I should clarify that this place was not a general hospital but more of a birthing clinic, very homey, so I can appreciate that folks wouldn't want to have their new baby around a bunch of sick people (I wouldn't either). The weeks stay was just fine with me, it was a very smooth and easy transition to back home (wife's parents' house, actually...a typical Japanese tradition as well for a couple of months).

I don't know if the clinic gets government subsidies or whatever, but in any case the bill we got was $2,000. I guess that DID cover things?

As far as insurance premiums and taxes, it's all on a sliding scale. Most of us "regular" folks pay far less than Americans do (my tax rate has varied but has NEVER exceeded 10%, I'd have to check on the premiums cause I'm not sure offhand), but I wouldn't want to be wealthy in Japan lemme tell ya! (I'd move back to America in that case, naturally...where being weathy is the only way to fly!)

50 years ago 10 days was the norm.

35 years ago, we were charged $860.00 for a 5 day hospital stay that included a tubal ligation and I had my appendix out. The baby stayed for a week because of jaundice. I had a choice. I could stay in the hospital with the baby or go home. It was hard but I went home. I had 3 other kids that I thought needed me there.

For 2 day stay after an uncomplicated vaginal birth by a family practice doctor. The epidural was $3,000 of that, which suprised me because when I had general the previous year, it was only about $1,000. I sort of regret it because of that but I was freaking out to the detriment of the progression of my labor.
We had to return 2 days later, as agreed upon discharge, because my baby had jaundice and lost a little more than the normal amount of weight (although he started above 8 lbs).

Mine was $850 in 1995. I was prepared to pay it because strictly speaking it wasn't "medically necessary" (it was absolutely necessary from MY point of view!) but I got lucky and the insurance paid 80 percent.

more patients since they don't have to do labor support then.

At our birthing classes, the anesthesiologists COME TO THE CLASS to talk about how things will be when our soon-to-be moms get THEIR epidurals. About 60% of our patients get them.

In the US, an emergency room visit for a severely lacerated finger cost my son more than that. Eight days, childbirth, neonatal care and only $2,000 is amazing.

I know no one will believe it, but in Japan, because of the way insurance works, you wind up MAKING money often times from getting sick.

Govt and companies also kick in a lot more "teate" or aid after you have a baby.

if not for that though I think we'd have made $1,000 or so (maybe not that much, I'm not sure...but I think the automatic reimbursement amounts to $2,500 or something like that).

Blue Cross/Blue Shield PPO -- and the total bill came to about $30,000 (I had to have a c-section). Insurance picked up about $25,000, and we paid about $5K out of pocket.

They kick you out after 5. For a vaginal birth I think you get two days in hospital.

And it's a hell of a lot more than 2 grand that's for sure.

would have been kicked out shortly after delivery. 8 days? No way. An 8 day stay in a hospital in Southern Calif. would run at least $50K and probably more, and you'd have to be in seriously terrible shape for any insurance company to authorize that extensive a hospitalization.

True story. 12 years ago I fell and broke my ankle. The bone snapped and I required surgery, which the orthopedic surgeon in the ER scheduled for the next morning. Rather than hospitalize me, he sent me home for the night. I've never been in such agony. I couldn't move, couldn't get up to use the bathroom, and I had no one to help me. It was beyond terrible. Cheap son of a bitch insurance company refused to authorize that one night stay. Health care in this country sucks beyond belief.

I had a baby. I wasn't in a car wreck, didn't have major surgery. My body did something it's supposed to do which was a bit tiring. Big deal.

So I had my baby, fed the baby, somebody brought me dinner, then more dinner (they hadn't let me eat in labor, which is a bunch of bullshit if there's no reason to suspect an emergency section under general anasthesia will be needed- having a baby is hard work and I was REALLY HUNGRY by the end of it) then more dinner. I changed a few diapers, contemplated killing the noisy woman in the neighboring bed, slept a bit, woke up the next day, ate some oatmeal and drank some orange juice, changed a few more diapers, told some stupid nurse that she wasn't taking my son to get mutilated and no we didn't want a fucking formula sample, fed my son some more, puttered around my room cleaning because I was bored, and waited around for the discharge paperwork.

Eight days of that and I'd have hurt somebody. Honestly we could have gone straight home after my son's first exam, other than being a bit tired and extremely hungry I felt fine and my son has never been less than perfectly healthy.

No way could I have stayed in the hospital after either of my childbirths.

DD was born on Wednesday night, we came home Friday night, DS was born Monday morning, we left Wedneday at noon.

DD was born in a civilian hospital - bill was $9000, military paid $2000, we paid $120 dollars (difference between a semi-private and private room). DS was born in a military hospital, I paid $19 for meals.

The hospital I was in had a first-come, first-served policy on their private rooms for recovery (all the labor rooms were private, at least.) Pricing was the same, you just got stuck in whichever was available. Naturally I got a shared room and the roommate from hell, she and her family were all extremely loud, plus she would whine to the nurses every twenty minutes about stupid shit and was clearly a world class hypochondriac.

If I hadn't got sprung early (in California I had a legal right to stay longer if I wanted) I think I'd have tossed my roommate out a window.

$92,000!!!!!!

for my son in Mexico - about $2700 American dollars for everything - which I paid.

I needed no monitoring, no medications, baby needed nothing special except a blood sugar check because he was big. I had a midwife instead of an obstetrician or family practice doc. $9500, but my insurance paid most of it. The rest was paid by my employer since I work at the hospital where I delivered. I paid $250. That last part is NOT typical for the American worker or family.

My friend delivered three days earlier at the same hospital with an OB and her bills were $17,000 for an unmedicated, vaginal birth with no complications.

C-sections cost upwards of $50K and the section rate is now about 30%

Four days in the hospital, planned C section. For two days I was flat on my back with a catheter in my and I was not allowed to get out of bed. I had a spinal anesthetic.
I went home after four days but still had to spend a helluva lot of time in bed. The baby was healthy and 8 lbs(HUGE to me). A c-section is major abdominal surgery. I remember when I had to get out of bed and start walking. I thought my guts were going to fall out and it was excruciatingly painful.

My mom took care of me and the baby for another week. I think the total bill was $8K. I had to pay well baby care in the nursery which i think was $100 per day. The nurses brought the baby in every four hours round the clock to nurse. If my mom had not been there to stay with me and feed me, I would have gladly stayed longer in the hospital.

and the doctors made post-delivery ***house calls*** (plural).

Socialized medicine is a disaster...


...not

at least with my insurance. 100% coverage.

i just had MAJOR surgery, am currently having PT twice a week, massage twice a week, chiropractic once a week, etc.

it's all free.

classic "cadillac plan"

if i didn't have insurance, i'd be out over 35k in the last two months.

She has insurance, but still worries about how much her portion will be.

You drive in, put your feet up on the dashboard, pop the baby out, get the bill, then drive away. If you want fries with that, it will cost you extra. See, it's just like in the old days of slavery - they expected the woman giving birth to be back in the fields by sundown.

Glad my grandparents decided not to immigrate to the United Shats of America. The Incompetent pos political elites, who thought Bush would make a good president will turn the USA into a superpower hasbeen.

It makes me furious.

My tax money going to unmanned drones that kill people, jails that take away liberty from people for smoking cannabis, corporate welfare for CEOs that earn 100,000 times what their workers make.

And we can't even have babies without paying tens of thousands of dollars.

Doesn't this piss you all off?

because honestly I don't plan to spend the rest of my days in Japan, nor do I want my daughter to be forced to choose based solely on the practicality of affordable health care in only one of her two "home countries".

It sucks, bigtime.

Bokura mo sugu socchi ni hikkosu. Chansu attara, aimashou!