Ever wonder what it costs, on average, to give birth in your state?
Childbirth is the most common way in which families are introduced to the healthcare system with approximately 85% of American women given birth by their mid-40s.
According to data from the national, independent, nonprofit organization FAIR Health, the national average charge for a vaginal delivery is $12,290, and the national average charge for a C-section is $16,907. Keep in mind that these are averages and the amount does vary state by state and from one delivery circumstance to another. A lot of factors can affect the bottom line.
What's further mind blowing is the cost increase of delivery over the years. Recently I came across a hospital bill from 1958 and was fascinated combing through it.
A quick glance shows one charge greater than $30.00 and as little as $.50 noted. Grand total $190.00 for 5 days in the hospital for a standard (non c-section) delivery- WHAT A DEAL!
I know what your thinking. What's the inflation on such bill today, if all things are equal. Using the CPI Inflation Calculator this $190.00 bill equates to $1,646.36 in 2018.
A lot has changed however since 1958. First off, Medicare wasn't even in existence yet. It wasn't until July 30, 1965 when President Lyndon B. Johnson made Medicare law by signing H.R. 6675 in Independence, Missouri. Other modern medicine items also didn't exist, such as ultrasounds and epidurals. Antibotics where just starting to be used in mass production. The period between the 1950s and 1970s was the golden era of discovery of novel antibiotics classes, with no new classes discovered since then.
So what does it cost today to have a baby?
According to a study done in 2016 and 2017 by FAIR Health, an independent non-profit organization, the below is the average price of actual claims data for each state:
Standard Delivery
AK - $10,413
AL - $5,017
AR - $5,600
AZ - $6,822
CA - $7,625
CO - $6,739
CT - $8,102
DC - $6,388
DE - $6,388
FL - $7,800
GA - $6,813
HI - $5,743
IA - $5,848
ID - $5,695
IL - $7,526
IN - $5,379
KS - $5,541
KY - $5,905
LA - $5,590
MA - $7,767
MD - $6,782
ME - $5,893
MI - $5,868
MN - $6,299
MO - $5,842
MS - $5,605
MT - $6,042
NC - $6,375
NE - $5,432
ND - $6,820
NH - $6,887
NJ - $8,936
NM - $6,189
NV - $7,157
NY - $8,936
OH - $5,836
OK - $6,003
OR - $6,565
PA - $6,850
RI - $5,401
SC - $6,521
SD - $6,102
TN - $6,748
TX - $7,349
UT - $5,357
VA - $6,953
VT - $6,257
WA - $6,482
WI - $8,314
WV - $5,815
WY - $6,823
Staggering price change from $190 to an average of $5,868 in Michigan. That's a 2988.42% increase over 60 years. Under the Affordable Care Act (ACA), there is now a ceiling as to how much a patient could be exposed to catastrophic expenses. For 2018 plans the Out-of-Pocket Maximum for covered expenses, is set at $7,350 for single and $14,700 for family.
How much was your total bill for a hospital birth?
コメント