Cost of hospital birth, after insurance?

amother

Blonde

Mon, Jan 07 2019, 10:08 pm

I’m trying to do some budgeting in advance of having a baby, and wondering what it costs people, out-of-pocket, after insurance, to have a hospital birth?
I’m in NY and have private insurance. Details like your general location, c-section vs vaginal birth, length of hospital stay, and type of insurance coverage would be helpful to know to get a more accurate picture.

amother

Dodgerblue

Mon, Jan 07 2019, 10:10 pm

amother wrote:

Methodist
Vaginal birth no epidural (came in 10 cm)
2 days
Private insurance
Cost:250+80 forprivate room

amother

Coral

Mon, Jan 07 2019, 10:10 pm

This will depend completely on your individual policy. What your coinsurance looks like, how much your deductible is, what does the deductible apply towards, whether or not all providers are in network.

amother

Tan

Mon, Jan 07 2019, 10:12 pm

Delete

Last edited by amother on Tue, Feb 12 2019, 1:22 am; edited 1 time in total

amother

Blonde

Mon, Jan 07 2019, 10:13 pm

amother wrote:

Right, I get that. I will need to pay 20% of hospital costs and deductible up to $1,800, but most of the deductible may be paid for by then. My ob/gyn is in network. Just trying to get an overall picture. It’s hard to understand why it’s not easier to get a clearer range of what you will be expected to pay from insurance companies.

sky

Mon, Jan 07 2019, 10:15 pm

I have to pay $500. It’s a set amount and not dependent on how or what.

With my first my insurance was not as good.
My ob was $950. Hospital was another huge bill.
My biggest surprise was a $2000 bill from the anastesialogist for my emergency c-section who was out of network. B’H I was able to negotiate that specific one to $0.

But the total cost took me by surprise.

Last edited by sky on Mon, Jan 07 2019, 10:18 pm; edited 2 times in total

amother

Coral

Mon, Jan 07 2019, 10:16 pm

amother wrote:

Right, I get that. I will need to pay 20% of hospital costs and deductible up to $1,800, but most of the deductible may be paid for by then. My ob/gyn is in network.

So you need to call the hospital and find out from them what those numbers would be. I don't think many people here paid 20% of hospital costs.

ETA the anesthesiologist/ other providers may not be in network. You should ask the hospital their policy on that as well.

sky

Mon, Jan 07 2019, 10:18 pm

amother wrote:

Yes - I had that surprise! The hospital and ob were all in network. I’m not sure how that out of network anastesialogist happened - but it did.

amother

Amethyst

Mon, Jan 07 2019, 10:28 pm

I gave birth at northshore lij. insurence through my hubby work. bill was a freakin fortune. 1400 from hospital and 850 from obgyn. bh for the yummy baby but so much money.

amother

Lemon

Mon, Jan 07 2019, 10:38 pm

There's no way to know and the hospital won't tell you anything, they're notoriously secretive about prices. I had a natural delivery in the hospital lobby attended by a random resident that ended up costing more than the c section I had a few years later. Same state. Both times with private insurance (but different plans, obviously). There's no rhyme or reason to it. It's a huge part of why the system is so messed up, you can't shop and compare like you do for refrigerators or cars or strollers. You're at the mercy of the hospital and the insurance company.

amother

Pewter

Mon, Jan 07 2019, 11:01 pm

OP which hospital are you giving birth in? Some have financial programs for the balance billing.

amother

Orange

Mon, Jan 07 2019, 11:23 pm

My births cost me 0$.
Bh! I have UHC. Its a great insurance.
Not sure though if you need to be income eligible?)

sky

Mon, Jan 07 2019, 11:40 pm

amother wrote:

They gave me a detailed itemized bill for my stay - with some really crazy total.

Writergirl

Mon, Jan 07 2019, 11:42 pm

amother wrote:

My births cost me 0$.
Bh! I have UHC. Its a great insurance.
Not sure though if you need to be income eligible?)

Do you pay a premium for this great insurance?

amother

Salmon

Mon, Jan 07 2019, 11:45 pm

Writergirl wrote:

Do you pay a premium for this great insurance?

She probably has UHC community plan which is a Medicaid plan

Writergirl

Tue, Jan 08 2019, 12:02 am

amother wrote:

She probably has UHC community plan which is a Medicaid plan

I assume. It's just cute how she writes what an amazing insurance she has.

gibberish

Tue, Jan 08 2019, 6:33 am

It depends on your insurance. Mine were always about $5k, $10k when they tried to bill baby under separate deductible.

saw50st8

Tue, Jan 08 2019, 6:36 am

Costs range based on your plan. I've paid anything from $300-$2,000 and if I gave birth today I would be paying up to $9,000 based on the cost (I'm on a high deductible plan).

My most recent birth at Columbia Prebyterian was $70,000 for the OBGYN, hospital and all associated doctors and labs.

ectomorph

Tue, Jan 08 2019, 6:38 am

We recently had a hospitalization were a doctor was billed as out of network.

It turns out that if you don't get to choose the doctor they are not allowed to Bill it as out-of-network to you.

It took about three hours of phone calls but we didn't end up having to pay for it.