Pregnant without health insurance..thoughts?

bettybcafe82 Posted: Apr 08, 2009 05:59 PM

Pregnant without health insurance..thoughts?

Just curious...how many of you have been or are pregnant and dont have health insurance? How is that working?

I know..this is prob. a stupid question but im curious. Some people get pregnant and have no insurance...how r ur bills like?

Toucan311 Posted: Apr 08, 2009 06:11 PM

Re: Pregnant without health insurance..thoughts?

I'm sure its insane. I remember my SIL's epidural alone cost her $8000 b/c the doctor was out of network.

bettybcafe82 Posted: Apr 08, 2009 06:26 PM

Re: Pregnant without health insurance..thoughts?

Posted by Mimacat

I'm sure its insane. I remember my SIL's epidural alone cost her $8000 b/c the doctor was out of network.

thats insane

agraydc Posted: Apr 08, 2009 07:03 PM

Re: Pregnant without health insurance..thoughts?

Posted by Mimacat

I'm sure its insane. I remember my SIL's epidural alone cost her $8000 b/c the doctor was out of network.

are you sure it was that much for just an epidural.....my friends was $800 and another friend had a cyst removed from her ovary for $5000 total....surgeon and anesthesia everything included....

i know having a baby would be expensive but it would also depend on how much care and what you needed, example sonos, blood work, monitoring, etc......

mrspalomino148 Posted: Apr 08, 2009 10:49 PM

Re: Pregnant without health insurance..thoughts?

well i just had a baby .. and if we had to pay everything out of pocket, it will easily be 30k+ .. and would increase if it was a c-section. DH has very good insurance, and we still paid out of pocket a few grand. Epidural was i believe 2 or 3k, i can't remember off the top of my head, and still believe I shouldn't pay for it cause I had it done and then they shut it off 30 seconds later bc they didn't check how far dilated I was.. sorry for my tangent.. but anyways hospital STAY (nothing else) was about 15k... its awful

bettybcafe82 Posted: Apr 08, 2009 11:08 PM

Re: Pregnant without health insurance..thoughts?

Posted by mrspalomino148

well i just had a baby .. and if we had to pay everything out of pocket, it will easily be 30k+ .. and would increase if it was a c-section. DH has very good insurance, and we still paid out of pocket a few grand. Epidural was i believe 2 or 3k, i can't remember off the top of my head, and still believe I shouldn't pay for it cause I had it done and then they shut it off 30 seconds later bc they didn't check how far dilated I was.. sorry for my tangent.. but anyways hospital STAY (nothing else) was about 15k... its awful

Wow..I cant believe how expense having a child is. yikes

Espo22 Posted: Apr 08, 2009 11:56 PM

Re: Pregnant without health insurance..thoughts?

I don't think i'd have a kid without insurance. Its not just about while youre pregnant which im sure would get very expensive. For me the biggest problem would be after I have the baby. I mean if god forbid anything happens i would want to have insurance and get the best care for my child. I think i'd be too afraid

Ayne11 Posted: Apr 09, 2009 12:47 AM

Re: Pregnant without health insurance..thoughts?

See why can't our health care system be the same as Canada's??

If just for this alone!

Maternity leave is one year standard with pay, and with your job waiting for you if you decide to come back.

jtgarsik Posted: Apr 09, 2009 08:15 AM

Re: Pregnant without health insurance..thoughts?

Posted by Ayne11

See why can't our health care system be the same as Canada's??

i KNOW our healthcare system needs improvements...BELIEVE me..it is RIDICULOUS what we have to pay, how we are treated, and what is expected....

however i think if the U.S. ever had a system like canada's - going to the hospital or doctor would be as bad as going to the DMV

futuremrsfab Posted: Apr 09, 2009 08:36 AM

Re: Pregnant without health insurance..thoughts?

Posted by Ayne11

See why can't our health care system be the same as Canada's??

when we were on our honeymoon we met a couple from canada and the wife was a doctor- she was much more impressed with our health system.

Also- I think I remember her saying that their taxes were threw the roof- I know France has socialized health care and they pay 50% taxes

dajc23 Posted: Apr 09, 2009 08:48 AM

Re: Pregnant without health insurance..thoughts?

I'm not sure how much it would be out of pocket

but you'd have to pay for all the sonos, bloodwork, office visits etc. first..then the actual hospital which includes epidural (if you choose) the actual delivery and stay itself. I can only imagine how much it would be

Let's just say I had a 3 day hospital stay almost 3.5 yrs ago and it was almost $11k And thats just for the room and some meds.
I'm still paying for it

EmberLynn Posted: Apr 09, 2009 08:50 AM

Re: Pregnant without health insurance..thoughts?

yes but the taxes actually go to helping the people out. For example in France they not only pay all your medical bills after having a baby, but they send someone to help you for the first month or so of the babies life. This person can do your laundry, watch your baby, do house work, etc... while the mother recovers. And the kid gets free day care, free health care, free education, etc...

In Canada, (this is what I heard from a friend who lives there) the reason why they have issues, is that, people who are from Europe, who live in Canada get the health treatments before the Canadian citizen. That is why people have to wait a yr for cancer treatment and stuff.

MnM182008 Posted: Apr 09, 2009 09:13 AM

Re: Pregnant without health insurance..thoughts?

Health care is so expensive. I purchased my own health insurance policy but once I got it, they started coming at me with the pre-existing health conditions, they told me a biopsy was a preventive care (They don't cover anything preventive). So I had to go on DH health insurance (we are ttc now), and that costs us an extra 810.00 a month. Its so insane, I have no idea how anyone could have a baby w/out insurance and afford it. Especially a c section. My Aunt had a baby in 2004 via c section and the baby had to stay for 5 days in neo-natal. I remember hearing the bill was over 100,000 dollars than, thank god they had insurnace.

lillprincess54 Posted: Apr 09, 2009 09:26 AM

Re: Pregnant without health insurance..thoughts?

I just got paperwork from the hospital, stating that if i choose to get a epidural, and my insurance does not pay for it, I will be billed $750.00, plus another $200 for the dr's fee.

bluekat16 Posted: Apr 09, 2009 09:46 AM

Re: Pregnant without health insurance..thoughts?

I think there are many people wo don't have insurance that have babies. However, it's so much more harder, not just for labor and delivery and every thing else that is associated with childbirth, it's the care of the baby afterwards.

Honestly if I were you I'd either look into purchasing health insurance or wait until you or DH get insurance through work.

Mici n KC Posted: Apr 09, 2009 10:50 AM

Re: Pregnant without health insurance..thoughts?

It is very expensive to have a child period. I do know that there are programs available to people that don't have insurance, but I think you need to be eligible for them based on your income.