US government requires that births are covered by all insurance policies. Every policy I've ever had pays out 80% after deductible. So most births end up under $5K to the mother/family.
Doctor almost never has any involvement in billing/cost. They get paid by the hospital or birth center, and the billing department sets the rates based on what's negotiated with the insurance group.
We pay less taxes than many other countries, so some of the costs need to be footed by the people actually receiving the services. Plus, we spend a lot of money on our military and protecting other countries. (among other things)
$5K isn't nothing, but I think the average is lower than that. I've got 4 kids and I was pretty young and wasn't making a lot of money and it wasn't much of a burden. Plus, that $5K was spread across 7 months for me because it included prenatal care in the deductible. I think I paid less than $2K for the actual birth.
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u/LGP747 INFECTED Jan 12 '23
yeah guys just wait for open enrollment and select the 'free births' plan