The cost of raising a child in America has soared (2018)

Post by nkrumm » Tue, Jun 25, 2019, 3:21 AM UTC

RHSeeger wrote: post #35

TuringNYC wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

1. Not all companies give you such options 2. A lot of the cost is in fine print of things not covered, e.g. during our delivery two of the many many medical personnel were out of network and we ended up paying a huge co-pay for that — but it wasn’t like we could have checked ids for each doctor entering the room etc for insurance acceptance. They entered, they did something, they billed.

I feel like a law should be passed saying that, for any patient with a medical networks, any out of network related charges must be signed off on; individually. Failing that, record yourself telling the hospital staff (or get it in writing) that any out of network charges will not be payed unless expressly signed for ahead of time.

Post by JumpCrisscross » Tue, Jun 25, 2019, 3:33 AM UTC

opencl wrote: post #59

JumpCrisscross wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> we calculate inflation from some fixed index of consumer goods prices CPI includes housing, healthcare and tuition. The basket isn’t fixed, e.g. 1999 CPI didn’t include cell phone data costs.

The weighting applied to housing, healthcare, and tuition appears to be nonsensically low compared to the fraction of income most people spend on them. Though to be fair CPI is computed nationally and things like housing prices are so localized that it's impossible to come up with a number that makes sense across the whole country anyway.

Post by jjeaff » Tue, Jun 25, 2019, 3:45 AM UTC

scruple wrote: post #56

foxfired wrote: post #49

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The counselors at the hospital told me same thing. The out-of-pocket maximum was set to be $5,000 for the insurance. But they also gave us a ceiling (which I don't remember the exact amount at the moment). I was advised that to get Medical which, I did right away, and it is supposed to be retroactive.

This is frightening to read. How is this possible? My wife and I have 3 week old fraternal twin girls (wife is a living, breathing superwoman who carried them to full-term, despite being on strict bedrest from 26 weeks due to pre-term labor scare). We haven't gotten the bill yet but we had assumed that we were in the clear at this point because we've already reached the max (many, many months back, in fact).

Post by tathougies » Tue, Jun 25, 2019, 3:56 AM UTC

jelliclesfarm wrote: post #38

souprock wrote: post #36

Most of this is totally optional. I have a dozen kids, and I'm sure not spending that kind of money per kid. Births are usually cheap. You can go it alone for $0 or get a midwife for $2000 to $6000. Most of us have health insurance with an out-of-pocket maximum. For example, mine tops out around $11,000. Crazy bills can usually be negotiated, with the hospital very aware that you might just not pay at all. Child care…

Are you home schooling? In CA, depending on where you live, it costs the state and tax payers 10-14k/annum per child. That’s for 12 years. Dozen kids would cost about 1.6 million for 12 years of public education. ETA: I just saw that you mentioned homeschooling. If it’s ok to ask, how much are your expenses per month and do you own your home?

Post by pkaye » Tue, Jun 25, 2019, 6:29 AM UTC

EvanAnderson wrote: post #16

irrational wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A very poor one it sounds like. Even a high deductible plan shouldn't have an out of pocket expense that is that high.

All my plans since 2013 have been $12K+ deductible. (Self-employed in Ohio.) Every medical event is a major shopping and price comparison exercise, and nearly every provider refuses to quote hard-and-fast prices. (You also get treated very badly by some practices who act terribly put-off that you'd have the lack of decency to ask about prices. You get that treatment double when it's about a procedure for your kid. P/…