Hellobee Boards

I'm pretty sure that's the norm. Most places require everything to be paid down a month or two before the due date.

I'm honestly not sure. I know that we have a $250 co-pay for delivery and that's supposed to be it, and I believe we can pre-pay that or pay when we check-in. I want to look into what is covered if there are complications, NICU stay, etc, though to be prepared.

Yup, that was the norm for us. My OB gave us a statement about what things would cost if we don't have insurance. They would bill insurance and then bill us for whatever insurance didn't pay for. We had to finish paying for our visits by the 7th month. We got billed in three installments.

@highwire: Not at all! We were worried that it would be 3,000 out of pocket, but it really seems like it is the 300 deductible. The catch with our plan, though, is that there is no coverage for out of network providers, and we seem to need referrals for everything.

Honestly, we have enough to worry about. They know who we are, and where we live. When they want payment, I'm sure we will hear about it.

It certainly isn't the approach everyone takes, but it works for us right now.

@highwire: I hate to tell you this but if your bill from your OB is anything like mine it has nothing to do with L&D. My doctor sent me a very similar notice to what you are describing. A monthly payment plan. But that just covered my pre-natal care from the OB. The hospital's L&D charges are completely separate and I will be billed after the birth.

We had to pay everything by 20 weeks.

I will get a bill from the hospital for any care that my insurance does not cover (and begrudgingly, am switching to my husband's insurance at the birth because it works out better in the long run, though his plan only covers 80% of maternity services....)

@highwire: I would confirm. Mine covered the doctor's charges for being at the birth but not the hospital's charges, medicines, infant care all that good stuff. My plan is 80/20 too but we have a 2k out of pocket maximum. Phew!

I'm not pregnant yet, nor have I had any kids yet, but this topic confuses me. Say you were out of town for the weekend and went into labor and delivered at another hospital and with another doctor. What happens if you've already payed someone else? Do they refund you? I'm sure it doesn't happen too commonly but working in a hospital, I've seen people who were in town for a funeral who've gone into labor and are too far away from home, so they come to us...

We were told we owed 2 months before his birth. We paid the Ob half of the remaining deductible. When we were checking out of the hospital, my husband went to billing and they said it is okay for them to bill us. We feel more comfortable going that route, because what they wanted was waaaaay too much considering our Ob had yet to submit the money to insurance (or however it works).

I did not have to prepay and honestly never heard of it till the boards.

We had to pay the OB by halfway (20 weeks). It came out to about $500 (our 20% portion). We then had to pay the hospital bill (one for me one for her) and the anesthesiologist.

Yes that's how mine is, I'm actualy on a 6 month plan, and it will be done in August which is 2 months before my due date. We will get the hospital billed to us afterwards, however I think we should have our deductible pretty much met by that point!

@ mamamoose- mine works the same way. I haven't received my L&D bill yet since I just delivered on 4-20 but i already paid the bill from my OB. I wonder how they would go about charging for L&D ahead of time since there's no way to tell what services you will actually receive i.e. vaginal birth vs. C section etc?