What: Researchers found giving birth could range from a financial strain to ruinous for Americans on employer-sponsored insurance. While around 80% of Medicaid patients paid nothing for labor and delivery, 60% of people on commercial insurance paid $1,000 or more out of pocket. And those Medicaid patients who did have out of pocket costs were more likely to have borrowed money or still owe money a year later.
Key line: “The cost of childbirth and postpartum health care results in significant and persistent financial hardship, particularly for families with lower income with commercial insurance. Medicaid offers greater protection for families with low income by offering reduced cost sharing for childbirth and postpartum health care, but even minimal cost sharing in Medicaid causes financial strain.”
Source: The Milbank Quarterly // https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/1468-0009.12721