There are many things that people plan for when they are going to start a family. When someone decides to have a baby, there are tons of things to consider, especially when it comes to giving birth and the labor and delivery process.
One thing parents are concerned with is where they are going to deliver, other parents are concerned with their health insurance plans.
Many countries across the world have universal healthcare, which means that they can deliver and have a child at the hospital for no fees or, they have insurance that covers all of the cost.
However, America is a country that does not have universal healthcare.
While some believe having a baby should be "free," the hospital charges you for many things that you use during the labor and delivery process.
From the hospital room to the epidural procedure, and other things—it can add up to be a lot of money.
If you don't choose a plan that covers everything with labor and delivery, you can end up paying a lot of money to give birth to your child.
And, if you need an emergency c-section or even an extended stay in the hospital—well, it adds up to even more.
The new mom, Shannon Mayor, shared that she just got their hospital bill from her baby's birth.
From her face at the beginning of the video, one can see that it was going to be a real doozy of a bill—she doesn't look enthused or excited.
In total, Shannon's insurance paid out over $50,000 to the hospital in order for her to give birth.
If she hadn't had any health insurance, she would be solely responsible for paying this very large bill.
Thankfully, Shannon is one of the lucky ones in America who have health insurance, so she was only responsible for paying $250 in total to the hospital for childbirth.
But, it opens the question to: what happens to those who are not insured?
Shannon shared that she had an emergency C-Section, which is classified as a surgery, and she also had to have a stay in the NICU for a little while.
This leads to higher bills and also more charges for the extra things needed.
Some were lost as to why people have to pay to give birth to a child.
Many asked what happens if people do not have insurance and cannot afford to pay such a hefty bill. Some asked if they "put the baby back."
One TikTok user said that their daughter was in the NICU for 2 months after being born. The hospital bill totaled over 1.5 million dollars for the stay.
Their insurance covered it, of course, because they were lucky. They still paid over $1,000.
One person said that they, too, had to have their child stay in the NICU for a month and the bill came out to be $300,000.
She said she "threw the bill away" because they couldn't afford it at all.
Everyone seemed to be in agreement that America's current healthcare system is really expensive and very broken for people who need care.
Many said they "can't believe" that America still won't accept or instill universal healthcare.
Yikes.
