Cost of delivery/NICU in the US

condorita

Hi Ladies,
I'm just into my third trimester, and I'm from outside the US. I'm travelling to the Chicago area for work on week 31, and I'm planning to get special travel insurance just in case anything happens with my pregnancy, but I have no idea how much coverage would be reasonable to aim for. I realize most of you must have some kind of health plan and probably won't we paying full medical fees, but can you please tell me, if you have an idea of the out-of-pocket cost of delivery and a NICU day over there? For example, I know my first (normal, zero complication) delivery would have cost ~USD 5000 and a day in  NICU is ~USD 2000 in a private clinic in my home country, but those numbers may be totally nonsense in the US. Of course I realize every case if different, I'm just looking for a ballpark figure to know what is the minimum coverage I should get.
Of course, I don't really expect anything going wrong or I wouldn't travel, I just want to plan sensibly.

Many thanks!

benten24

The estimated average cost per day in a hospital is roughly $2,500. A NICU would be more expensive, and you would have to take into account the length of stay for a premie. My understanding is that they normally are in the NICU until close to their EDD. Good luck, hope you have safe travels and everything goes smoothly!

suchaglencoco

I can't speak for the cost of delivery and complete stay as I had issues and was hospitalized before delivery, but I do know that our insurance got charged $3,100 per twin per day in the NICU. 

I HOPE you don't have complications while traveling. 

slfezz

I don't know about NICU but my delivery ~50 southwest of Chicago and the 2 day stay was about $7k prior to insurance. Could you call the hospital close to where you will be staying and ask to talk to billing? They may be able to give you a better idea of what that hospital charges. One thing about the US system is prices can very greatly from one hospital to other even if they are just 20 miles apart.

I hope you enjoy your trip and don't have to use the pre-planning. 

condorita

Thanks everyone for the useful information!

MrsDCruz

My delivery was 3k and my sons 7 day NICU stay was 30k it varies depending on the hospital and area of the country, labs required etc. 

Alygohome

Be sure travel insurance will cover the baby after delivery, I work in Insurance in Canada and none of the companies I know of will cover the baby. Only you and sometimes not even for pregnancy.

I had NICU time in Canada and according to them it cost approx. 2000-5000 a day depending on the level of care we needed. Of course it was all paid for but I was curious and asked.

tuicatmama

Alygohome said:

Be sure travel insurance will cover the baby after delivery, I work in Insurance in Canada and none of the companies I know of will cover the baby. Only you and sometimes not even for pregnancy.

I had NICU time in Canada and according to them it cost approx. 2000-5000 a day depending on the level of care we needed. Of course it was all paid for but I was curious and asked.

Yes! This! This is so true here, and I only learned it AFTER I was in the USA on a trip, with "full" coverage. Fortunately, I didn't need to use it, but I'm really glad I know now, and make sure to mention it to any of my pg friends or colleagues who plan to travel out of the country.