Mother Owes Nearly $1 Million for Daughter's Birth

[UglyGreed]

Jennifer Huculak with her daughter Reece. Photo by the Toronto Sun

Childbirth is costly, but this is ridiculous: A mom from Saskatchewan, Canada, owes almost $1 million in hospital bills after she gave birth in the United States.

In October 2013, when Jennifer Huculak was almost six months pregnant and on vacation in Hawaii with husband Darren Kimmel, her water broke, according to a story published Tuesday in the Toronto Sun. After being airlifted from Maui to a nearby hospital in Honolulu, Huculak spent six weeks on hospital bed rest before giving birth to a premature baby girl, Reece, via an emergency C-section. Reece was kept in the neonatal intensive care unit for two months before the family was able return to their home in Canada in February.

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After a week at the hospital, Huculak’s insurance company informed Huculak that her coverage had been denied. (The company is referred to as “Blue Cross” in Canadian media coverage, but is believed to be Saskatchewan Blue Cross, according to Blue Cross Blue Shield. The latter tells Yahoo Parenting that it’s not involved in this case.) The reason for the coverage denial: Huculak had a pre-existing condition that deemed her a high-risk pregnancy. However, according to the Sun, Huculak’s doctor wrote a letter to the insurance company stating that the pregnancy was healthy. The claim was still denied.

https://www.yahoo.com/parenting/mother-owes-nearly-1-million-for-daughters-birth-103061950107.html

[MiniMe]

1. It is expensive, but this was not a normal birth

First off, the insurance that they bought was basically worthless and didn't pay for anything because it was a pre-existing condition. Second, the mom's water broke at 6 months, and the mom spent 6 weeks in the hospital on bedrest then had a c-section, 3rd baby was born premature and spent 2 months in the neonatal intensive care.

[Art_from_Ark]

2. Even considering that the mother spent 6 weeks in the hospital,

and the baby spent 2 months in neonatal intensive care, for a total hospitalization period of about 100 days, that means that the cost *per day* was around $10,000. Who can afford that?

[UglyGreed]

3. What a way to

welcome a new addition to the family

[davidpdx]

4. The cost is outrageous, but at the same time when you travel to a different country

you are responsible for your medical bills. I now live in South Korea (though I am from Oregon) and went to the US in 2011 and ended up with pneumonia. I was in the hospital for 5 days and ran up a bill of $30,000. It doesn't take much (granted I didn't have surgery or a baby that was born premature). The insurance they bought was obviously worthless.

A few days at a cabin by a lake and they still would have been within range of getting medical care at the hospital they go to in Canada. It would have been a lot cheaper.