
$8k to Give Birth - jigglypuffs
https://twitter.com/ebruenig/status/1171247264637050881
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martin_a
Yeah, so what? I think we have often enough discussed that the US healthcare
system is broken.

People should never have to worry whether they can financially manage to go
and see a doctor when they are in need of one. Doesn't care if you've broken
your arm, am expecting a child or if you're chronically ill.

I don't know what else to say about this. Get that shit together and become a
first world country.

~~~
ekianjo
> Yeah, so what? I think we have often enough discussed that the US healthcare
> system is broken.

You think giving birth is free? There are usually 3 or 4 professionals
present, along with a bed for the day, instruments to measure various things,
drugs for (pre) and post delivery, etc... it's far from being like a regular
doctor visit.

~~~
gnode
> You think giving birth is free?

This is a straw man argument. Nobody is suggesting public healthcare is
without cost. Civilised societies provide services like policing, fire and
rescue, criminal legal defence, and education, because these are deemed
rights. The United States is an outlier in not regarding healthcare a right to
be supplied as a public service.

~~~
defertoreptar
It's as much of a strawman argument as the Twitter image is, then, since the
image is literally a picture of a hospital bill.

One argument doesn't mention the subtext of socialized medicine, and the other
doesn't mention the subtext of insurance.

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sparrish
With our daughter, we shopped around and prepaid at a private hospital $5k, no
insurance.

We ended up not making it to the hospital in time (35 min labor and delivery)
and I delivered the baby at home (not recommended). We took mama and baby into
the hospital to get checked out and were out of there 5 hours later.

I later contacted the hospital and asked for a partial refund because my wife
and I did the hard part.

They refunded us $2.5k.

~~~
cdubzzz
That sounds extremely interesting. I’d love to hear more details about this —
e.g. Where do you live? How did you arrive at the decision to go this route?
How did you even know it was an option? Is this common in your area/anywhere?

I’ve never heard of doing it this way. And that price would be cheaper than my
deductible, hah!

~~~
sparrish
At the time, we lived in Phoenix, AZ USA. We just called up the hospitals and
asked what programs they had for private-pay child delivery. Most had post-
paid financing but a couple had prepaid programs that were cheaper.

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creaghpatr
Note: that’s not what _she_ owes, that’s just the ‘cost’. Interestingly she
cropped that part out of the bill.

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obtino
That's about how much it costs (after insurance) to give birth in a private
hospital in Australia as well. This is in a country that has universal
healthcare. The largest costs are the often the hospital fees.

~~~
tomlockwood
Incorrect, that's how much it typically costs to give birth in a private
hospital BEFORE any private insurance is applied.

If you go through the public hospital system (aka universal healthcare) the
cost is negligible. Around 70% of people choose the public option.

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cdubzzz
Curious why this particular tweet was submitted. That is probably the lowest
bill I have ever seen for childbirth. My first son’s C-section birth was $25k.

~~~
jve
Did you have to pay it yourself?

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nojvek
It cost me $4k out of pocket after having employer insurance in US. Absolutely
absurd. Prolly one of the reasons i’m gonna stick with only one kid.

Kids are really really expensive in US. You wanna be rich. Don’t have kids.

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8fingerlouie
I'm aware the prices are before insurance, but having just spent some time in
TX, i'm amazed at the amount of young(ish) people walking around with some
sort of "disability" that could (and would) be easily fixed if only they'd go
see a doctor.

In a country with universal healthcare we simply don't see that. Notice
something that isn't right ? go see a doctor - it's free.

~~~
bitcoinmoney
Example? I live in Austin and don’t see this.

~~~
8fingerlouie
I was in downtown Dallas, and it was mainly while walking between downtown and
Deep Ellum.

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adolph
Maybe people forget the elaborate system of lies in which commercial payors
tell providers “I’ll pay .6 on the dollar” so providers say “ok I’ll ‘charge’
you (cost + margin) * 3” because I’ve gotta make a healthy margin this one to
cross subsidize the patient with a government payor who will only pay .3 on
the dollar.

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bassman9000
That's the bill. How much did she actually pay?

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gaspoweredcat
i think it should be expensive, if youre not willing to save up that much to
have a kid then where do you expect to find the funds to support them?

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kmlx
as people already know by now, the US medical system is subsidising the rest
of world, along with medical innovation (new drugs etc):
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v7xmkzVU29Q](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v7xmkzVU29Q)

~~~
lazysheepherd
Oh do we? No one asks US to be drug martyr of the World. Economy is a living
thing, just stop paying double or triple for drugs, and market will level
itself across all customers in no time. IF, you can stop that is: because IMO
whole thing rather smells corruption, not martyrdom.

~~~
kmlx
it's not about asking the US to be the martyrs. it's about the state of the
matter. right now, by asking US citizens to pay exorbitant prices, and thus
boosting innovation and bringing new products to market, you are actually
helping places like the EU get better and cheaper medication. of course you
can change that.

