Four months into her pregnancy, Nicole was experiencing severe vomiting and nausea that lasted all day, a condition called hyperemesis gravidarum. Unable to see or smell food without getting sick, she was constantly fatigued and had to rely on medication to keep food down. Around this time, Nicole also discovered she was anemic. Her hemoglobin levels were so low that she needed to be followed by a hematologist while taking iron supplements.
After the first couple of doctor visits to address those issues, bills began to arrive in the mail. Though the Bradleys had medical insurance, the out-of-pocket expenses were starting to accumulate.
With or without complications, bills for pregnancy and childbirth can often be high in the United States. Despite this, American women are more at risk from maternal health complications than those in many other high-income countries. In many cases, people don't realize their health insurance isn't designed to cover every medical development.
Pregnancy is part of having a family. You would expect to be covered, but that's just not the case.”
“In the beginning, it was a surprise,” says Nicole. Her previous health insurance covered everything during her first pregnancy and most of her second pregnancy, but the family had changed to a different plan. Getting bills not covered by major medical insurance for every prenatal visit from that point on resulted in a lot of stress.
“In order to stay afloat, we definitely had to make a lot of sacrifices,” says Siyan, by paring back expenses and shifting bill payments wherever they could.
Shortly after the arrival of their son, Micah, Nicole and Siyan received another medical bill. This time, it was $2,500 for the hospital delivery, which had gone smoothly. Nicole set the bill aside in shock.
“You have a brand new baby. You want to spend time with your family and just bask in the moment of being a new parent,” Nicole says.
The Bradleys were already living on one income, paying off bills from the earlier doctor visits, and covering expenses that come with raising a newborn.
“Trying to figure out how we [were] going to pay these bills on top of our everyday bills was a lot,” says Siyan. “From time to time, you feel defeated.”
After Micah was born in June 2019, it took Nicole and Siyan another year of budgeting, rearranging bills, and cutting costs to bounce back from their medical debt. Earlier this year, Nicole found a new job as an account manager. These days, she is focused on the challenges and rewards of working full-time from home while caring for her daughters and baby Micah. “We have two girls and one boy now,” says Nicole. “He completed our family.”
Nicole and Siyan's experience changed their view on healthcare and finances. Though they don't plan to have any more children, Nicole offers some advice to those who are.
“Do your research,“ says Nicole. “Do your research on what insurance you have, what kind of coverage you have, and put extra funds aside if you are not 100 percent covered, so you are not feeling it on a month-to-month basis.“
The Bradleys are far from alone in facing unforeseen medical bills for a baby. Many insurance plans—particularly those with lower monthly payments but higher deductibles and copays—can leave households with thousands of dollars in unforeseen bills. Aside from months of expenses related to doctor visits and needed medications, the cost just for giving birth can be steep. Doing the research Nicole suggests can help pinpoint holes in coverage so that it's possible to plan ahead financially, lending a sense of control and keeping everyone focused on the new arrival.
“I really admire Nicole. It was inspiring to see a woman so gracefully balance her corporate and family life. She and her husband, Siyan, had done everything right. When they should've been focused on celebrating the coming of their son, they were affected by surprise medical bills.”
— ROSEM MORTON