Monday: How Much is That Baby in the Window? Actual Prices for Labor and Delivery

I just finished making baby numero dos. Wonderful to have two children, but, as everyone who has had children can attest to, it is also wonderfully expensive. I tried to prepare financially for both births, but had a difficult time finding reliable information online- all I could really find was general, "Your labor and delivery could cost over $10,000,". 

Well, ok. 

But how much to the hospital? 

How much to the doctor? 

How much for my epidural? 

How much will insurance REALLY pay? 

Needless to say, this information didn't do much to help me out. So, to give other new moms-to-be a leg up, I rounded up specific information for two live deliveries in the year 2013. You'll find the exact costs for each part of delivery, the insurance adjustments, and how much insurance paid. Hopefully it will help you to plan out your labor and delivery costs more accurately.

Stacy's Labor and Delivery 2013 

Insurance Plan: $250 deductible*, 90/10** after deductible is met.

Item	Pre-insurance Price	Insurance Adjustment***	Amount Paid by Insurance	Final Cost
Obstetrician Fee	3,400	581.40	2311.74	506.86 (this was the first bill and so the deductible of $250 was included in this)
Pediatrician (baby is looked at after delivery)	100	-	90	10
Mom Hospital Stay (mother left 24 hours after delivery)	3783.97	-	3605.57	178.40
Anesthesiology Bill (epidural)	648.00	90.00	501.70	55.74
Baby Hospital Stay (24 hours)	2,027.85		1600.06	427.80
Final Out-of-Pocket Price				1178.80

Brenda's Labor and Delivery 2013 

Insurance Plan: $2500 deductible*, 80/20** after deductible is met.

Item	Pre-insurance Price	Insurance Adjustment***	Amount Paid by Insurance	Final Cost
Obstetrician Fee	3,360	675.49	1,202.66	300.67
Pediatrician (baby is looked at after delivery)	189	122.70	53.04	13.26
Mom Hospital Stay (mother left 24 hours after delivery)	3,510.98	641.43	56.77	2446.56 (most of $2500 deductible met in this)
Anesthesiology Bill (epidural)	864.00	-	691.20	172.80
Baby Hospital Stay (24 hours)	2,158.19	1,850.40	307.76	307.76
Final Out-of-Pocket Price				3241.05

Just as an FYI if you need it 

*Deductible: Most insurance plans have what they call a deductible. This is a flat amount of money that the insurance company requires you to pay BEFORE they will pay for any services other than routine well child checks and the like. If you have a surgery that cost $249 and a $250 deductible, you would pay the full amount. If you had a surgery that cost $300 and had a $250 deducible, you would pay the $250 deductible, plus a percentage of the remaining $50 dollars.

**90/10 or 80/20 or 70/30: The most common insurance breakdowns. Most insurance companies will, after your deductible is met, pay a percentage of all remaining covered costs. For 90/10, for example, it means they will pay 90% of the costs of services AFTER the deductible is met.

***When you go to hospitals/doctors, you general try to stay 'in network'. If you go to someone 'in network', it means that your insurance company may have some kind of deal with them, aka "I'll let you be a doctor in my network and you'll get lots of patients from me. In return, I expect special discounts." These special discounts are called insurance adjustments and basically you get a discount off the full price just because you have insurance.