What happened? Giving Birth in a hospital used to cost 29 Bucks!

Where did we go astray?
You read that right, in 1943 it cost less than 30 dollars to deliver a baby in the hospital.
If you add in inflation, we are still talking less than 600 dollars.

In todays reality I think that amount is
now anywhere from 30K to 200K and more.
We are the MOST expensive nation in the world to deliver a baby.
When I last delivered the full cost was over 80K.
At the rate we are going, there will only be two groups having babies in the future. The super rich, and the super poor.

If you read the line items I think it says a lot.
For example, the cost of drugs back then were only a dollar.

Before the Obamacare disaster my last childbirth (ok my wife did most of the work) in 2009 cost $100. To me. Not sure how much insurance paid. It was great.

Sadly that's not the case now that Obamacare nuked the healthcare world.

a reply to: JAGStorm

I read an article where some procedure costs around $3000 in foreign hospitals and $56,000 in a USA hospital. With this level of monopoly pricing the US consumer is getting gouged up the wing wang.

originally posted by: jjkenobi
Before the Obamacare disaster my last childbirth (ok my wife did most of the work) in 2009 cost $100. To me. Not sure how much insurance paid. It was great.

Sadly that's not the case now that Obamacare nuked the healthcare world.

Yes I'm talking more total costs, but you bring up a great point, out of pocket vs. what was paid via insurance.
I had to fill out a financial agreement before the birth. The total costs were over 80K but out of pocket was 8k.
The funny thing was they tried to sneak all kinds of extra charges in there that wasn't agreed to. I disputed it and won, I wonder how many people miss that and just pay it.
I'm not saying if there were extra life saving things that had to be I wouldn't have paid, but these weren't that.

just for context - can any one supply comparative " then and now " invoices for any other services :

such as :

replace a automobile clutch or head gasket ?

build a single car garage [ concrete block and felt roof ] ??

paint a house - comparable size

fit 6 windows - frames + glass - comparable size

etc etc - you get the gist ??????????

originally posted by: JAGStorm

originally posted by: jjkenobi
Before the Obamacare disaster my last childbirth (ok my wife did most of the work) in 2009 cost $100. To me. Not sure how much insurance paid. It was great.

Sadly that's not the case now that Obamacare nuked the healthcare world.

Yes I'm talking more total costs, but you bring up a great point, out of pocket vs. what was paid via insurance.
I had to fill out a financial agreement before the birth. The total costs were over 80K but out of pocket was 8k.
The funny thing was they tried to sneak all kinds of extra charges in there that wasn't agreed to. I disputed it and won, I wonder how many people miss that and just pay it.
I'm not saying if there were extra life saving things that had to be I wouldn't have paid, but these weren't that.

Why hospitals/doctors charge insurance companies extortion-like rates needs to be addressed. Us the customer really isn't that discussion and has no influence in the transaction.

Where did we go astray?

Like everything else in modern America.

Your paying more for the labor than what your actually getting.

a reply to: JAGStorm

Because of insurance.
Same thing happened to college tuition when the government got in the loan business.


Obama should have focused on reducing medical cost instead of worrying about insurance.

originally posted by: JAGStorm
Where did we go astray?
You read that right, in 1943 it cost less than 30 dollars to deliver a baby in the hospital.
If you add in inflation, we are still talking less than 600 dollars.

In todays reality I think that amount is
now anywhere from 30K to 200K and more.
We are the MOST expensive nation in the world to deliver a baby.
When I last delivered the full cost was over 80K.
At the rate we are going, there will only be two groups having babies in the future. The super rich, and the super poor.

If you read the line items I think it says a lot.
For example, the cost of drugs back then were only a dollar.

Primarily insurance being the payor, not the patient.

To a lesser degree, technology and improvements in overall care. Also litigation.

You can give birth at home for free if you want. However if SHTF and birth has complications 50k will seen like a bargain.

a reply to: JAGStorm

I had a baby in 1975 and the hospital bill was $750.00.

The price is why I thus far only have 1.

Not to derail the thread into illegal immigration, but I find this situation wholly unfair. Having worked in an obgyn office doing insurance, we would have young ladies walk in for a first appt- when getting them registered have zero identification/ss# made no self pay payment as they were leaving ... couldn’t communicate fully.
They would go to the back and see the dr. Take a blood or urine test and have a positive pregnancy.
The next month they came in for their appt loaded.
Medicaid cards... purse full of paperwork....HR helping them fill out forms for WIC and SNAP....

I couldn’t ever understand it. We make it clear in our society to young women not to get pregnant when they cannot afford to care for the child, when they’re not considered financially stable, etc. we drive that home in many ways, to where being pregnant and concerned with how you will pay for the child is completel taboo. If your living conditions are not deemed appropriate they will even come and take your child.

But for the rest of the world who doesn’t live here we treat them like gold.

I don’t know what kind of lives these people live outside of the dr office, i only know they sure aren’t receiving the same medical bills as me for the same services. And I’m working and paying taxes and they’re breaking a law to come over here and receive those benefits.

It hurts my heart.... because many women are infertile by the same they reach financial stability and feel secure bringing a child into the world.

The blame can be placed many places, IMO, but the reality is that women in this country are living in two different realities.

As far as how much it used to cost, my parents story from the mid 80’s is pretty wild

They did not have insurance- and setup some sort of pre arranged payment plan, for a 2 night hospital stay and whatever was included at $3000. Out of pocket. They made payments during the pregnancy and had it paid off before my mother ever had me.

She got to the hospital in labor and there were some complications. Forceps were used and the dr cut her with them. She had to be repaired and lost enough blood to have a transfusion. She stayed an entire week in recovery.

The $3000 they had paid became null. They charged over 20K for the event- and wouldn’t even apply the 3k already paid to it. Said it was null because the stipulations of agreement were not fulfilled (a 2 night stay)
The hospital sued my parents after they said they could not and would not pay that.

They did not pay me off until I was 15 years old.

This was in 1986.

So, I don’t know how far back you have to go to see a decent healthcare system.... but I think it’s well before the 80’s

a reply to: JAGStorm

$200k to bring a baby into the world???

I suggest you head to a 3rd world nation.

You will get 20 for the price of one and not even have to give birth. LoL

Well I have 3 children and 3 grandchildren. Now let me think, my 3 children, cost er, er, oh yes 0, that's nil nothing. Now my 3 grandchildren, oh er nothing again. When are you lot gonna realise it's better to spend on healthcare that billions on so called defence. Oh, but that might smack of socialism or god forbid communism. Some smack head might get free treatment, some homeless down and out might get free treatment, I'm not paying for them.
But you'll happily pay out the billions to the insurance companies that actually do f### all for your health but take the lions share of the money.
Some times you Americans are clever but the majority of times your as stupid as a bag full of dead ducks.

Got a friend who's a Neurosurgeon in San Diego, he complains he pays half of his income for malpractice insurance....Somebody has to pay for all those big lawyers & insurance co.

America, the land of the Free!! So free in fact, it costs $32,000 just to give birth!

originally posted by: mamabeth
a reply to: JAGStorm

I had a baby in 1975 and the hospital bill was $750.00.

That’s about right my son was born in 1977 the Doctor bill was $400 and the hospital bill was was about $750.00. We had no insurance and we paid the entire amount.

Not to derail the thread into illegal immigration, but I find this situation wholly unfair.

You're totally not derailing, that is absolutely one of several reasons that it is so costly now. Not just for giving birth but all medical in general.
People that don't believe it can again look at Chicago!

A lot of hospitals in bad areas moved because they simply couldn't afford to stay in a place that offered zero incentive.
Then the people of that area screamed racism. etc. It was all about economics!

Health insurance is the main culprit.

In the medical field, comestic surgery is the best case study as to how prices fall when a free market is unincumbered by insurance and the patient is in control of the purchase decision. LASIK, Boob jobs, Butt jobs, fertility treatments, braces, etc all can be done relatively cheaply because insurance usually does not cover the procedures. As such, patients shop around and surgeons have to charge reasonable amounts that can be paid by cash or offer relatively cheap/easy financing.

When the end consumer is not the one making the purchase decision, cost tend to rise. Combine that with lack of choice you get serious price inflation.

I think the insurance companies and medical providers are in cahoots. I did a thread a few weeks back where I could find online in less than 10 seconds on Amazon some replacement supplies for my CPAP machine cheaper than what insurance was being billed/charged by their agreed upon distributor.

It would be far cheaper for me to buy the supplies on my own.

More like What happened to giving birth at home for free, no cost and celebrate family values? Must rush to hospital for no reason.