Can I ask a $ question?

always2busy

Hi all.  I am a TTC lurker and was wondering if anyone would be willing to share some information with me.  We have a new insurance provider at work for this year, and this will hopefully be the year I get pregnant. (fingers crossed)  I have 100% coverage and was looking around the provider's website with my information, and it says that pregnancy/birth can cost ME anywhere from $6,000 to $13,000.  I realize there could be unexpected expenses (fertility treatments, diagnostic tests, etc.) but I am shocked at the out of pocket expense with 100 % coverage. 

So I guess I am wondering what your experience with the costs of pregnancy/birth were for you all.  TIA!  I really appreciate it!  Can you tell I am a planner?

oparcm

mine was covered in full

Evil Widgets

I didn't get any bill for labor and delivery...etc...except for my epidural that cost me $78.  My bloodwork, u/s..and OB visits, cost me around $300.  I had 100% maternity coverage. 

mlm1128

My coverage was 90%, and I paid about 2K out of pocket.

Lea LaJeunesse-Askren

Both of my pregnancies were covered in full with no out of pocket expense.

Katherine

mine was covered in full also.  but recently a lot of insurances are changing the way things work and they will be adding a copay (that could be upwards of $1500) to hopsital births.  i'd call your insurance company and have them break it all down for you if you want to plan it out.

elm1032004

all plans are different so the only way to know for sure would be to call your provider and ask.  Tell them that you are thinking of TTC and you want to make sure you plan for any expenses up front.  There could be different plans that don't cover everything 100% or maybe labor and delivery isn't covered 100% with your plan but all drs visits are...

stacynikki

We paid close to $2500 out of pocket.  What really sucked is that I wouldn't have had to pay anything but my company changed providers which started Jan 1st and I had DS on the 23rd.  Oh well! 

Alexandra*sMom

Both births we paid $500 or less out of pocket.

luckyluvr

While mine was covered in full, I still received the insurance statements. Each dr. visit was around $100. Then there are the ultrasounds at $200+ each. There are the tests throughout...genetic, Group B, gestational diabetes, etc. Finally, when you reach the hospital, you get a nice charge from the anethesiologist, the hospital itself, the dr. (and each time they visit you for a whopping 2 seconds), the nurses, and any extra care. For my c-section, I even got a bill from the assisting dr. who was on call during that time. The anethesiologist stopped by the day after to check on me for 1 minute....there was a couple hundred dollars. It all adds up. I'm guessing $15K isn't unbelievable.

lsufan

I pay $200 each for a medical deductible and a hospital co-pay. ?For my first, we also had to pay the medical deductible for the baby, so $600 total. ?My second required a NICU stay, so we also had to pay a hospital co-pay for him ($800 total for both of us).

Reagan's Mommy

Mine was covered in full and we did not have to pay out of pocket.

I'm confused, b/c you said it was 100% covered, which to me means you don't pay anything.  (Assuming a typical, low risk pregnancy without other non-covered fertility services)

ETA:  I guess I mean that it depends on what exactly is covered at 100% (prenatal visits, delivery, etc.  So, not sure what is covered under that in your plan, but expect to pay for anything else, I guess)

excitedchic

I paid NOTHING to medical people for the birth of my daughter.

We had 100% coverage, which included everything. I did not have to pay any copays (which could add up since you are at the Drs a million and one times throughout the pregnancy). It was all covered.

Oh wait, the only thing that we paid the hospital for was for having the TV in the room for the 2 days we were at the hospital. (It was lke 20 bucks.)

 

snickerdoodle27

I only had to pay a copay at my dr visits up to $100. Insurance paid 90% of the delivery and hospital stay, I was responisble for the other 10%. I had a c-section and my son and I both stayed in the hospital for 4 days. The total was about 12K, so i ended up having to pay about $1200. My son spent a short time (a few hours) in the NICU.

Katesmama

We only paid around $500 total for the pregnancy and birth related expenses.  Our 3 rounds of in-vitro cost us around $40k. In-vitro wasn't covered at all.

 On another note, I see your from Palatine.  I grew up there and my parents still live there (over near Palaitne High).  So I just wanted to say "HI".

GrowingFamily

We had a $1000 deductible & $3000 out-of-pocket max, so we paid $3000 for the birth.  After the $1000 ded was met, our insurance covered 80%. (That amount of money is not counting doctors charges for our newborn while he was in the hospital, after the birth, who also then had a $1000 ded/ $3000 OOP max.)

 

If your coverage is 100%, it doesn't make any sense why you'd have to pay a dime. Wouldn't 100% cover it all?!  If you are paying something out of pocket, then it's not 100% coverage.

skippy2310

With both of my pregnancies, I only had to pay the first $10 co-pay.  Everything pregnancy related was covered, including a week stay in the hospital at 32 weeks.  

 

meglew

My pregnancy and birth were also 100% covered by insurance, which included prenatal care, u/s (more than usual), cvs testing, birth (vaginal), epidural, hospital stay.  I paid a one time OB/GYN co-pay of $20 and a hospital co-pay of $100.  The other $30,000 was paid by the insurance.

buler23

My insurance was 100% coverage for my pregnancy and birth.  We did have to pay $250 co-pay for our hospital stay (I guess that is considered different then birth, because it was not the actual procedure - who knows). 

brightning

I paid out $700 total for pregnancy and delivery (incl. C-section).

However, our insurance has since changed and we'll probably have to pay double that.

Angela814

I think the hospital co-pay was $150, and it was $25/day for days 3-4 (c-section).  Then there was the initial $25 co-pay for the first OB appointment.

I paid $225 in total.

senecamom

One $18 co-payment to confirm that I was pregnant. That was it for the entire pregnancy/delivery. Oh, I forgot the lab fees. I think that was 2 or 3 times, $18 each.

LanaM

my first labor was 100% covered...   did not pay a penny for the delivery itself.

second time my insurance only covered 90% (and I had high premiums for that high of a coverage) and my deductable is $1500 for the family max, $500 per person. I think I ended up paying around $2500 out of pocket. Labor & Delivery total bill was around 13K.

both were uncomplicated vaginal deliveries.

 

Good luck!