Being a new parent is exciting — learning everything for the first time, developing a new love, and creating a new schedule.
What’s not so exciting is the hospital bills you rack up in the United States just to have a baby.
Averaging somewhere around $5,000 to $11,000 per child with health insurance, the expenses of having a baby come from much more than just buying diapers and a crib.
This mom, after having triplets, was astonished and disgusted when she received her hospital bill for a whopping $1.5 million.
While dealing with sickness post-delivery, this mom was forced to deal with anxiety and fear for much more than her sick babies — now, a huge hospital bill also loomed over her.
After giving birth to triplets, this mom was shocked to get her $1.5 million hospital bill.
Even with health insurance, the cost of having a baby is astronomical. Not only did this mom have 3 children at once, but she also went through the whole hospital stay without health insurance.
She shocked viewers in a now-viral TikTok from January 16th, where she shared her average $500,000 bills for each of her three newborns.
After having her triplets, each needed extra care in the NICU — wracking up her hospital bill immensely.
“James was in the NICU for 31 days…he was there to feed and grow,” she says about her first baby, “they charged us $447,037.”
“Polly was in the NICU for 39 days,” this new mom says, “she needed a little bit more oxygen and a little caffeine, and they charged us $547,785.”
“Baskyn was in the NICU for 35 days, he just needed a little bit of extra time,” she says finally about her third, “and they charged us $481,261.”
Shocked by a bill that could purchase an incredible mansion or multiple college educations, the comments immediately share their distaste for the healthcare system in the United States.
They’re not making up how serious of a problem healthcare-related debt really is – nearly 1 in 4 Americans hold some kind of medical-care debt.
A great majority of that debt comes from having children — especially without the small security blanket of healthcare insurance.
The new mom says the hospital bill only covers her babies, leaving another bill for her 11-day stay pre-birth.
“This doesn’t even begin to cover my 11-day hospital stay before the babies were born,” the mom ends the video saying.
Although she shares her news with a seemingly happy composure, comments worry about how she’ll be able to tackle the incredible debt while also having three newborns.
“They actually expect humans to just have over 1 million dollars lying around?” one comment questions.
“How is that even possible to pay?” another asks.
Comments urge the TikTok mom to get an itemized hospital bill — assuring her it will bring the cost down.
While many of the comments seem shocked at the incredible bill and this new mom’s insane predicament, others give her some tips on saving money.
“Ask for an itemized bill,” one person says, “It’ll go down so much.”
The commenters are not the only ones to give this advice, many medical professionals and welfare advocates urge anyone with medical bills to ask for an itemized bill.
Being that medical procedures and childbirth come with a million different components, it’s quite frequently that mistakes are overlooked during billing.
Having the knowledge available to know when to ask for help or an itemized bill is essential to saving money after childbirth.
One commenter sums up the narrative of the video well, saying, “It’s baffling to me that the American healthcare system actually expects someone to pay this out of pocket.”
Zayda Slabbekoorn is a news and entertainment writer who focuses on pop culture analysis and human interest stories. Catch up with them on Instagram or TikTok.
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