I have found that talking about my highs and lows during this pregnancy has really helped to open so many heart to heart conversations between myself and other women about the difficulties of pregnancy and maternal care. And let me just tell you, it is appalling how much is hidden until you are “in the club.” Even the “easy” pregnancies are tough, and many women struggle in silence. Secondly, it has been terribly difficult to estimate and wrap my head around the costs (and don’t get me started on how astronomically stupidly expensive pregnancy is in the USA!). So in light of that I wanted to make sure that I was open, honest, and vocal about my experience. Just trying to add to the voices of the women who have come before me. Hopefully one day we can change our maternal health care culture in this country.
Read more: Journey through Pregnancy: Month 3
My Insurance Plan
I realized I need to clarify what type of insurance plan I have for these numbers to make sense. I pay $0 out of my paycheck for this High Deductible Plan & our school board gives $750 a year to my pre-tax Health Savings Account (HSA). I choose to put aside an additional $50 per paycheck to my HSA (20 paychecks per year = $1000/year).
This is how my plan works:
- I get $750 in January
- I pay 100% of the costs until my deductible is met ($1,750) – I met this with my unexpected ER visit in March
- I pay 20% of the costs until my out of pocket maximum is met ($5,500) – as of 4/24 I have $2,299.82 remaining to hit this
- After my out of pocket is met, I pay nothing but copays (on my plan, I do not have any)
If would have known I was going to need weekly allergy shots & was a high risk pregnancy I may have made the choice for the Buy-Up plan? That plan costs $750 a year, with much lower doctors & lab fees, but it has copays, which I would have to pay even after my out of pocket was met. So, no, with being high risk it is actually better for me to do this plan because it means delivery is actually “free” for me.
Also, since we have both managed our HSAs well over the past few years, none of the cost of my healthcare this year is “out of my pocket.” This means that it is all coming from my & Will’s pre-tax HSAs. When I got pregnant I just estimated I was going to spend all my out of pocket maximum anyways & made sure we had enough in there to cover it. However, they are now nearly depleted.
My First Trimester Healthcare Costs
| FIRST TRIMESTER | |
| Prenatal Vitamins (90 count) | $17.82 |
| Low-dose Aspirin (120 count)* | $2.00 |
| First Prenatal OBGYN Visit (to confirm pregnancy) | $37.43 |
| First Prenatal Lab Tests | $28.59 |
| Progesterone Lab Test* | $2.85 |
| Enoxaparin Sodium Shots (1 month)* | $78.21 |
| First Ultrasound | $30.42 |
| First Trimester Blood Tests | $285.79 |
| Lab Work from Spotting* | $7.01 |
| Enoxaparin Sodium Shots (1 month)* | $98.95 |
| Second Ultrasound & Fetal and Maternal Health (FMH) Visit* | $684.65 |
| Routine OBGYN Appointment (all routine, preventative OBGYN appointments are covered under the Global Maternity Fee, not specialists & diagnostic care) | $0.00 |
| TOTAL | $1,273.72 |
*Note: I am not a “typical” late-twenties pregnant chick so not all these costs are “regular.” I am considered a high risk pregnancy due to a blood clotting disorder, so far zero complications on that front (yay!). I’ve put asterisks on the ones that are not so typical.
JMF
