You Want Me To Pay For What?

One of my friends, Beth, messaged me on Facebook today and gave me my blog topic for today (or at least one topic for the day)...the financial aspect of losing a baby.

When you lose a baby, you now face a roller coaster of emotions and a grief that you must live with for the rest of  your life.  Let me just say that the bills that will come when this happens to you is The LAST thing you will think about, until they start coming in the mail.

Let me share my experience with you regarding the bills.  Without going into too much detail, I can say first of all, assuming you gave birth in a hospital, you will most likely be facing a handful of large bills.  The hospital bill will most likely be the most expensive.  If you needed an ambulance ride, there is yet another bill.  

This can all be SO OVERWHELMING, especially when you are trying to grieve for the child you just lost.

While I don't know how every hospital/medical group works, I can speak from my knowledge regarding the subject.  Here is what I know.  First of all, these places charge your insurance first (assuming you have health insurance).  After that, they will send you a bill for the remaining balance due.  *Note here from another Facebook friend, Pam - call your insurance company as soon as possible to see how much you will need to pay and how much they will cover.*

Once you get those bills, I would suggest you contact the financial department in the hospital or medical group and ask if they have financial assistance programs and request the forms to fill out for such a program.  A lot of hospitals/medical groups have financial assistance, but you need to ask for the forms, they most likely will not tell you about it if you are paying.  A lot of hospitals will also give you a percentage of discount (up to 100%) depending on your family size and income.  ASK for help.  If you do not ask, you will not know.

Some medical groups do not have any financial assistance program, but will be willing to set up payment arrangements with you.  Most likely ANY medical group will set this up for you if you cannot pay the balance all at once.  Think of it this way, they would rather you make payments than nothing at all.  These payment arrangements are great to take advantage of especially if they do not charge interest.  I know that some do not charge any interest.  If you are not sure, again, let me reiterate, ASK.

I completely understand the drama and life altering event of losing a baby.  It was brought to my attention that no one really talks about this side of the loss, so I wanted to at least address it on the surface.

I hope this information is useful for you and will in some way help you if you are facing this situation.