How medical debt after birth is impacting even financially stable families

Some middle-class families with private insurance face a risk of medical debt after childbirth. The group has been left behind by recent health care reforms.

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. — Jessica Hurley eyed the stack of medical bills in her purse as she held one of her twin babies, blue from lack of oxygen, in the neonatal intensive care unit. 

She prayed that the boys, Perry and Kinser — born prematurely at 32 weeks — would survive. 

About a month had passed since a traumatic delivery in which she’d given birth to Kinser naturally, then Perry via cesarean section. She and her husband, Jimmy, had two other children, ages 2 and 13, to care for. On top of that was another source of dread: How would they afford the mounting costs of the birth? And why were the bills already so high when they had insurance?

“I was getting bills from the lab, I was getting bills from the hospital, I was getting bills from the medical group, I was getting bills from radiology,” Jessica said. “It was a full-time job trying to figure it out, and I’m trying to keep my babies alive.”

Jessica Hurley.Bryan Birks for NBC NewsThe Hurleys’ income was too high to qualify for Medicaid in Illinois, where they live. But their insurance plan — provided through Jimmy’s union — has an out-of-pocket maximum of $28,500 for in-network services. 

https://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-care/childbirth-medical-debt-middle-class-insured-rcna170224

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