John A Weeks III wrote:
- quote -

I wish I had known about this when we had our 3rd. After our middle
child was born we moved to where we are today, and when my wife left
her job in Austin for the move, we also lost her health insurance
(which included a really good maternity benefit).

So, for our 3rd child we decided to use a midwife. That experience was
really good and the OP might think about looking into using a midwife.
The downside came when the pregnancy went into the 3rd week past the
due date. We had to induce labor, but we were certainly not prepared
for that. We had no backup plan to the midwife and paid dearly for
that lack of preparation.

The OB bill alone was in excess of $10,000. Mainly because the doctor
was penalizing us for not using her for prenatal care.

The lesson here: if you do something like a home birth with a midwife
(which should be way less expensive than a hospital stay), use a
midwife who has a good association with a doctor and make sure you know
what you're paying for. We would use a midwife again, but we'll make
sure to be far more prepared should we find a surprise bun in the oven.
(We both think 3 kids are enough!)

--
Mickey Chandler
http://www.my-debt-reduction-plan.com/

John A. Weeks III wrote:
- quote -

Also, if you have a few hospitals in your area, they have been known to
compete with each other for cash-paying customers. Get a quote from
one hospital and talk to the business office at another and see if they
can beat it.

My suggestion if you are paying cash [with no insurance] is to spend
the next 9 months piling up cash. While a regular delivery might set
you back a couple of grand, it could be higher if there are any
complications.

Ryan

EXCELLENT ADVICE ! ! ! !
Cal


"John A. Weeks III" <john[at]johnweeks.com> wrote in message news:john-C75096.07215607092005[at]ip-lcc.supernews.net...
- quote -

In article <_qCdncjdrdWg4oPeRVn-qQ[at]comcast.com> ,
"Shhhh" <sshhh[at]123.4564> wrote:

- quote -

Go talk with a few hospitals. While it is little known, hospitals
will put together package deals for people paying cash for having
babies. You may be able to get a package that is 40% to 60% off
of list price if you make an agreement in advance.

-john-

--
================================================== ====================
John A. Weeks III 952-432-2708 john[at]johnweeks.com
Newave Communications http://www.johnweeks.com
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Hello all,

My wife and I are starting to get ready to have our first child, I'm curious
what you folks thing is a good plan of attack... some specifics...

We both have health insurance

No maternatity coverage (unfortunately) every place we've checked to add
this coverage says there's a "wait time" of six months or so before
maternity coverage can be used... obviously this won't work if my wife's
already pregnant.

How can I go about finding information about what it will cost us if we need
to pay for all pre-natal care and hospital stays, etc.

Any other general information you wish to offer is greatly appreciated.

I hope I'm asking this in the right place...

Thank you all,
Shhhh