You have to pay just to have a baby?!?

originally posted by: Dem0nc1eaner

originally posted by: NerdGoddess
My job let me go because I live in a work at will state. In my last few weeks I had to go to an appt every week. My job said that wasn't working out and let me go 1 week before I gave birth. I lost my insurance, etc..... cost me 900 dollars. My gyno was with the hospital group and refused to see me until i was able to pay. Unemployed, a new born, and all savings tied up in diff. retirement accounts, I had to find a new job 3 weeks after giving birth and get right back to business. I finally paid it off, and now since I paid them their money, I'm lucky enough to be given a prescription for birth control. Which they refused to give me since I owed them money. I guess their plan was I'd get pregnant again and come back and owe them even more money if they wouldn't give me contraception pills.

It's a hassle and a half- but nothing compared to what children cost in the long run.

-Alee

Pfff.... # the cost, that's just inhumane!

To think I was complaining about the NHS..... that would never happen here, it's unthinkable. Why would anyone have a baby with all that hassle???

Not sure what it's like in US, but here, women get 9 months + maternity leave. I was able to take a month off fully paid. Even with that, having a newborn is way more of a challenge than mere words can prepare you for, so I can only imagine how tough that was for you.

Congratulations on your child, it makes it all worth it doesn't it!

Wow! Most women I know work until the day they go into labor as long as everything going "normal" with the pregnancy. Then if you've been employed for at least a year you can take up to 12 weeks UNPAID leave. At least as far as I know. Maybe there are better options but I didn't know of any when it would have helped.

And thank you, yes, every moment i was ill during his creation, every moment I cried, screamed, every contraction, His father telling me to suck it up and be a woman when I was in labor crying, his temper tantrums and sassy little boy attitude.... all of it is worth it, for those positive moments, for every smile on his face, every butchered word that finds its way out of his mouth...... Love that kid, sure life could be considered easier or nicer pre child but there is NOTHING to me like the love you experience after gaining a child- be it a surprise or not.

-Alee

originally posted by: iTruthSeeker

originally posted by: Dem0nc1eaner

originally posted by: iTruthSeeker
a reply to: Dem0nc1eaner

You don't have to pay anything.. It is free... Oh wait, are you White?

Sorry, I'm really not sure what you're getting at?

If minorities (not all) had to pay the costs of having a baby, they would not be popping them out as frequently. Get this, they get PAID to have them. Each kid adds another chunk of your money to their pockets.

What racists a hole thing to say. If it bothers you that much, why not hand out free condoms in high school and clinics. Oh wait, your Republican friends de-funded Planned Parenthood and birth control programs because you all speak for God.

All i know is that american health care is a greedy for profit industry that mostly doesnt care about the hippocratic oath doctors are supposed to conduct themselves by.

I have a friend who last year went to a well known hospital in los angeles with a gunshot wound to his abdomen. ( a crazy family member had shot him during a botched suicide attempt)

The hospital released him literally onto the street a few hours later once he was stabilized although still in bad condition against the doctors wishes because he had no insurance. They literally refused to treat him any further. A gun shot wound.

Thats america baby.

pfft

Hi OP congratulations on your new born.

I also don't know how much it costs to have a baby in other countries, I'm glad to have free NHS services if i needed it, not been in hospital for 28 years (only 30) hopefully they will give me a body transplant if i need one lol.

originally posted by: dfnj2015

originally posted by: iTruthSeeker

originally posted by: Dem0nc1eaner

originally posted by: iTruthSeeker
a reply to: Dem0nc1eaner

You don't have to pay anything.. It is free... Oh wait, are you White?

Sorry, I'm really not sure what you're getting at?

If minorities (not all) had to pay the costs of having a baby, they would not be popping them out as frequently. Get this, they get PAID to have them. Each kid adds another chunk of your money to their pockets.

What racists a hole thing to say. If it bothers you that much, why not hand out free condoms in high school and clinics. Oh wait, your Republican friends de-funded Planned Parenthood and birth control programs because you all speak for God.

Sorry if it came off that way. Was not my intention. Just going by how it works, factually in many cases. I apologize for interjecting race into an OP that never intended to go that way. I deleted my previous posts in fear of an ensuing witch hunt. I shall try harder to stay on topic. Sorry ATS.

originally posted by: Dem0nc1eaner
I just don't understand how your private health care system could be so damn expensive.

But more than that, I don't understand why you would fight so hard to keep it that way, when the alternative is more money in your pockets...

When something is essential (food, water, energy, health etc) and its provided privately you can be guaranteed somebody somewhere is making a killing.....captive market.....very bad.

a reply to: Dem0nc1eaner

I just don't understand how your private health care system could be so damn expensive.

US healthcare is so damn expensive precisely because of the insurance companies. If they were eliminated, costs would necessarily plummet.

"But more than that, I don't understand why you would fight so hard to keep it that way, when the alternative is more money in your pockets..."

Simply because more than 50% of the US voters simply aren't very bright.

originally posted by: Dem0nc1eaner
I just recently had a baby boy, beautiful and healthy, 1 week early due to induction as precaution. He was the "most stoned baby I (the midwife) have ever seen!" due to my missus not being examined often enough and Pethidine being administered about an hour before delivery... No bother, all that matters are mother and child are healthy.

So, with that in mind, I was thinking about some of my gripes with the NHS (aftercare was pretty terrible for my girl, unnecessary procedures, lack of consistency ie. 5 different midwifes throughout the induction and labour) and how I felt about socialised health care on the whole, in comparison to what you Americans have or what may have soon.

Full disclosure, I am very anti socialism, politically towards the right, although have made a conscientious decision to opt out of the whole debacle, so I don't vote and have never done so. In principal, I was against the idea of having state funded health care, thinking competition could only improve quality of care and would also reduce cost in the long run etc.

How naive I was....

www.bbc.co.uk...

It struck me that women in the US (and evidently many countries) must pay for the privilege of popping one out. It must seem very normal to many of you, but to me, that just seems insane. Kids cost enough to raise dammit, without a bunch of doctors sticking their heads in your sideroom to check you are OK (at a cost of $500 of course).

One woman's bill came to $100,000. I'm totally flummoxed by that...

I realise insurance can foot the bill (does it always?) but that has really opened my eyes to how lucky I am to have the NHS, I really have been taking it for granted as I have never known anything else.

For some perspective, I spend roughly £650/year in tax that directly funds the NHS.

$100,000 = £77,170.00
£77,170 / £650 = 119 years worth of payments before I would reach the cost of this reasonably normal pregnancy.

For my £650/year, I have full health coverage. I daren't even think of the cost of having treatment for cancer. That would be free here, with maybe a small fee for prescriptions?

I just don't understand how your private health care system could be so damn expensive.

But more than that, I don't understand why you would fight so hard to keep it that way, when the alternative is more money in your pockets...

The reason for all the insurance companies is really so those who work in them or have family members who do, can have jobs in insurance that will pay their mortgage, etcetera. There are hundreds of thousands employed in the insurance industry and they will either riot, start a civil war, become suicidal or become terrorist if their jobs go. Same with the Health Care costs. These people depend on their jobs to make ends meet. It would ruin the life they have if health care cost went down. They are addicted to their own pharma meds and middle class life style.

The fact of the matter is no one really needed those industries like what we have currently until after WW II. Insurance lies within Christ and eternal life and healing energy is through our hands in connection to God. Combining compassion and love with paper dollars is the trick of the evil one. Too many people in these so called professions do it for the money only.

Money should be removed from the equation of human existence. It was never, and is not, compatible with our real nature. The bloodshed and poverty will continue as others reject their true nature and deny the God given divine light within them.

originally posted by: Dem0nc1eaner

But more than that, I don't understand why you would fight so hard to keep it that way, when the alternative is more money in your pockets...

Our healthcare industry and it's related special interest groups are always some of our biggest spenders on lobbyists. That and many people own shares in healthcare related companies. It's really that simple.

Here's 2016's top purchasers of lobbyists, divided by the economic sector (here's the link). Make sure to look for "Pharmaceuticals/Health Products", "Insurance", "Hospitals/Nursing Homes", "Health Professionals", and "Health Services/HMOs" (technically, "insurance" should include life insurance and other forms of insurance, too). In order to change our healthcare system, we'll have to successfully overcome all of them as well as the financial interests of people who are invested in those industries.

a reply to: Dem0nc1eaner

Reading your post makes me want to cry.

Imagine finding out you had a child who would die without immediate surgery, and because you didn't have a "pregnancy rider" in place at the time you and your partner accidentally got pregnant, you had to pay out of pocket for an entire high risk birth in an operating theater at a major hospital AND for your wife's post birth hospital stay. The bill was extreme.

We had insurance even. But not for babies and pregnancy. We were able to get the baby on our insurance in time after he was born so that worked.

He had to have three open heart surgeries to stay alive and now he needs one more plus expensive meds.

We were almost priced out of the market prior to the ACA with insurance costing far more than our mortgage per month.

So be grateful. We are terrified now of what is to come after the GOP rammed through their "health care" bill.

You don't need to pay to have a baby. You can just go ahead and have it. Good luck with that, of course. But you can't expect doctors and nurses and everyone else to poke their heads around a birth for free. They aren't slaves at your beck and call. And there's no reason I or anyone else should pay because you made that decision.

originally posted by: rickymouse
Well, one way to control the population is to make something so simple into something that is really expensive so nobody wants a kid.

That only controls the people who are responsible and likely to engage though and they'll likely be the ones to raise "problematic" citizens who are too independent for their own good and TPTB's efforts at total control. The ones who don't care will proceed to have a half dozen on the public dime anyhow but they're all good little dependents.

In my country,South Africa it is extremely expensive too.My oldest gal is giving birth to twins sometime in the next few days.She and her hubby have medical insurance but there is usually quite a few thousand left for the member to pay.But that can be paid off on a monthly basis if the member cannot manage a one off payment.When i had our son 10 years ago the med ins told my hubby it was all covered.But no,soon after my obstetrician sent bill after bill that apparently the med ins did Not cover.He's the best obgyn in the capital so ya that had to be paid off in instalments.

Still,with the cost of living these days,especially in my country,the cost of giving birth pales into comparison with the "running costs" of raising children.