A first-time mother, Allie B., 39, wanted to have the most natural birthing process she could. Still, when doctors recommended inducing labor to try and avoid complications, she agreed. Allie had a healthy baby, but issues were unavoidable both in the delivery room and beyond, as she — and her daughter — were expected to pay thousands of dollars almost immediately.
“[My daughter’s] heart rate was dropping and … ultimately I had to have an emergency C-section. So, my bill that was previously maybe manageable for me, skyrocketed,” Allie says.
An analysis from 2022 conducted by the Kaiser Family Foundation, which researches health policy, showed the average out-of-pocket health-care cost (after insurance) for pregnancy, childbirth, and postpartum attention is $2,854, or around the amount that Allie says she was prepared to pay.
Though she remained at Banner University Medical Center in Phoenix for three days, it was only a matter of hours after delivering her baby when Allie received a bill of $7,182.
Despite the birthing complications she endured, Allie calls the billing experience “the hardest part.”
“Someone came in as I was holding my baby and said ‘We would like to discuss your bill,’” she recalls. “It really tainted a perfect, beautiful time.”
She says she phoned her insurance while at the hospital. At home, she continued trying to sort out her finances, on top of recovering and adjusting to being a new mom.
After a couple of months of contacting the hospital on and off, asking for the paperwork needed to apply for financial assistance, Allie says she only received copies of the bill, including some marked “past due.” At some point, she got a bill addressed in her baby’s name. “That scared me even more,” she exclaims.
Following a visit to her daughter’s pediatrician, Allie says someone from the office directed her to the Dollar For website. There, she learned that she was probably eligible for financial assistance. She filled out an easy online form to apply.
After submitting it, a couple more months passed before she finally got the good news: All but $674 had been cleared from her medical debt.
“At that point, I had given up hope of getting it reduced or cleared, so I think I was in shock. [After] all that struggle, especially at the beginning of my daughter’s life,” Allie recalls.
She says she’s shared the Dollar For website with family and friends, including her mom, who was very worried about how Allie would pay for the birth.
Though Allie is happy with how things worked out, she believes she shouldn’t have had to experience so much financial stress postpartum. To others going through the same thing, she says: “Just know that there is help out there. Even if you’re met with obstacles every which way, like I was, don’t give up.”