Our fee for homebirth care is $6,700. Midwifery homebirth care is billed globally, which means the fee is the same for all of the prenatal, birth, postpartum and newborn care- no matter what point in pregnancy you come into care, or how long your birth is. Click here to check out all that is included in this global cost. The average client receives over 60 hours of 2-on-1 personalized care!

 

This fee includes a $500 deposit due at your initial office visit with us. We offer a $500 discount for those paying via cash or check in full by 36 weeks (reducing the total to $6200). We also offer a generous payment plan to help ease any barriers that may be in the way of you and the care and birth you desire. This monthly payment schedule allows you up to 6 months postpartum to pay your full balance. These monthly payments must be $500 or more, and at least half of the total fee ($3,350) is due by 36 weeks.  
 

 

Notes on Insurance:

 

We can’t say with certainty if your insurance company and/or your particular plan will cover your midwifery care and home birth. Honestly, many insurance companies aren’t even sure where they stand on reimbursement and will offer different responses on different days. Because of this, we have found that working with a billing agency to help support your pursuing of insurance reimbursement has been the most ideal option for all involved (three cheers for having someone else spend hours on the phone with your insurance company on your behalf!).

 

We have found that by utilizing this service our clients are able to get reimbursed the maximum amount possible than when we or they tackle it independently. Once care has begun, we can connect you with our billing company and they can help you navigate reimbursement. Your fee is paid to us out of pocket, and any reimbursement received will be given by your insurance after your care is complete.

 

Your insurance company may reimburse some, all, or none of the fee you have paid for your midwifery care. Our biller runs an Estimation of Benefits when you first come into care. This is a pretty accurate predictor of what you can expect to get back. We have been surprised many times when our clients were assuming their plan didn't cover anything that they actually were able to get some reimbursement. Utilizing the billing service is free to our clients. Our biller keeps 10% of whatever she is able to get reimbursed for our families (and 100% worth it in our opinion!)

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We also work happily with clients who are savvy with this kind of thing and want to tackle the insurance claim on their own. We will provide a superbill of services rendered after the 6 week postpartum visit. The superbill has medical coding on it that speaks "insurance language" for you to submit to your insurance company.

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Medical Co-ops + Health Ministries:

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We have found that they are the most inclusive in covering homebirth costs. Samaritan Ministries is easy to work with and covers pretty much every cost associated with care (midwifery, supplements, chiropractic, massage), and there is also Christian Healthshare Ministries, and Medishare which cover well too. If you are planning to switch to have homebirth covered, be sure to do it before you get pregnant, as all of these options will not cover a preexisting condition including pregnancy. You can call them to get more information on different plans/packages, but some do have a high deductible option in which case the fee for home birth would just pay into that deductible. Not all of the ministries do that- so you have some options. With all of these options, the fee for midwifery care and birth is due to us on a the agreed upon timeline regardless of when or if the ministry has reimbursed. Usually clients end up paying most or all of the fee out of pocket, then they are reimbursed but it is something you can talk with those companies about.

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Notes on Value:​

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We have observed for many years the different ways that people think, plan and address the financial element of homebirth cost and we have some insight in this area. As a culture we have an expectation that insurance is there to cover all or most of any medical need we should have, that's what it's there for right?! It is always SO lovely when insurance does cover some of the cost because having a baby is just plain expensive all around. However, insurance companies do not always accurately represent the value families place on wellness, prevention and excellent statistical outcomes. Likewise, medical industries that do run on 100% insurance payments have to make many adjustments to the way they practice, based off what insurance will pay them, which in turn influences the care they can afford to provide- all while charging very inflated prices for care. (Did you know the average uncomplicated delivery at a hospital costs $11,000 or more?!) We aren't entirely sure we want the individualized nature of midwifery care compromised in this way!

 

Check out this blog post for more thoughts and testimonials on the mindset of paying for meaningful experiences.

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Strategies for Affordability:

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We recognize than not everyone has the time or ability to plan ahead financially for this kind of cost- regardless of their perceived value of the experience. We have seen our clients do some very creative and effective budgeting to make it work though, and want to pass that encouragement to you!

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• Utilize our discount for paying early, this reduces your total cost by almost 8%.

• Utilize our payment plan option- in some cases it could work out to have payments stretch out for over a year.

• We can take payments on an HSA, Health Savings Account, if it is offered through your employer.

• If tax season is near and you are expecting a refund, pay the bulk of your fee when your refund comes in.

• Gifts: did you know the average expecting couple receives over $2000 worth in registry gifts? Ask for midwifery cost contribution instead of some of the baby items you may not need right away (or at all).

• Credit: we work with low/no cost medical credit to finance the cost of your homebirth. Ask us how this works! 

• We have had many clients find extra money in their budget by tightening up their spending habits. One family cut their cable and eating out for a year and covered the entire fee with those savings. ​

• In some specific cases we are open to barter or trade. Have something of value to offer? It doesn't hurt to ask!

 

Have you heard or thought of something we haven't mentioned? Please let us know so we can add it to the list and keep this important brainstorming going.

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