I had my baby in July. That was 6 months ago. I know that I will have to pay something, but it would have been nice to know how much the labor and delivery would cost so I could plan for it. And the worst part of it is I’m still not really sure. I asked a nurse for a quote ahead of time, but she didn’t know where I could get one. When I finally was able to track down an estimate, it did not include the cost of caring for my newborn. How is that possible? To have an estimate for childbirth and not care for the baby? And It’s not like I could have shopped around – I liked my midwife and my insurance said this is where I could deliver. 

The other frustrating part is that I received one off bills for months after the birth and I’m even certain that I’m done receiving them.  They’re often poorly explained as to what they’re for beyond just “childbirth” and I still don’t know how much it cost me or my insurance. I don’t know if it’s $25,000 or $50,000 or more than that. As a consumer, I can go to a grocery store or a car dealer and know what I am responsible for paying, but when it comes to health care, none of us know what anything really costs. This is so weird. If the hospital can’t figure out how much it costs, do they even care? Fortunately, I’ve got insurance. What about the people who don’t have insurance or have bad insurance? Everyone should be able to afford to have their baby safely. How are we all supposed to deal with this broken system?

Help us change the health care system.