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A few months ago, when I was starting my third trimester with my second child, I finally resolved our hospital bill for our first baby. She was born in the fall of 2007. I was hoping we’d have better luck the second time around, but it wasn’t to be. This video is the story of our ludicrous battle with our insurance agency—they insist we should have obtained prior authorization before going into the hospital. Evidently, the nine-plus months of prenatal visits weren’t enough warning. Maternity visits generally don’t require prior authorization since birth is a bit… unpredictable. When I asked the Member Services rep. what I should have done, she told me to read my benefit manual. I should have magically known when I was going into labor (during business hours?!) called every few days if the baby was late, and then I wouldn’t have been subjected to the $1500 penalty charge.  If that wasn’t absurd enough, just a few weeks ago my new son received a bill for $600 in his name—-evidently he was supposed to have called and gotten permission to come out as well!

I was expecting to spend hours holding my newborn these past few months, not hours holding the phone. We still haven’t resolved this bill.  Before my first pregnancy I was fed up with our health system, but now I am at the breaking point. I know I’m not alone. Almost every mother I know received unexpected bills from the hospital and have been denied insurance claims. I’m glad to be part of a movement of mothers who are addressing health reform bills, not just hospital bills. H.R. 3200 is far from what we deserve, but it’s a step in the right direction.  I hope that if my children have babies the idea of worrying about insurance will seem as antiquated to them as giving colicky infants gin seems to us.