Fees

FULL FEE

The fee for uncomplicated Out-of-hospital-birth Midwifery Service is $4000. For this amount, you receive:

A full schedule of prenatal visits in our office – as many as you need
Attendance by a primary midwife and an assistant at your labor & delivery
Use of the labor tub
At least 2 postpartum home visits (more if necessary)
A 6-10 week postpartum office visit
Use of the lending library
Access to discounted supplements
Unlimited phone availability

The fee may be paid in lump sums of any amount arranged in the payment plan. We ask that the fee be paid in full by 37 weeks of pregnancy. If financial difficulties make full payment by this date impossible, payments may be made after this time by presenting a series of post-dated checks for at least $50 per month.

Uninsured Clients – Out-of-pocket payment

For families who plan to pay out-of-pocket – either because they are uninsured, have insurance plans with excessively high deductibles, or are on state insurance (Medicaid, which does not cover Licensed Midwives yet) - the full fee of $4000 still applies. However, those who experience “financial hardship” – as determined by a process I can supply you with – may be eligible for a reduced fee, with a minimum fee of $2000, if they qualify after completing the financial statement. This lesser amount still covers the full service, as outlined above. Please rest assured that, regardless of the fee amount selected, the care a client will receive is the same. Paying less does not mean you get less service.

No matter the fee paid, whether out–of-pocket or through insurance, it does not include any incidental fees which may occur, such as: parking fees/tickets directly incurred during your care, herbs/supplements/ vitamins, birth supplies, doctor fees, lab work, medications your doctor may advise you to have, transport by ambulance, or hospital fees. Additionally, if prenatal visits, other than the 37-week home visit, are done in the client’s home at their request, there is an additional charge of $35 per visit.

Transfer of Care prior to term

If any abnormal conditions arise during the prenatal period necessitating the termination of these services before the 37th gestational week, the fee will be prorated based upon the length of pregnancy and services provided, as follows:

Initial Visit                                                          $250 - nonrefundable
Routine Office Prenatal Visit                                  $150
Emergency/weekend Office Visits                          $200
Home Visits                                                                 $200
Doctor's Office Visit                                             $150
Supplies and lab charges                                      actual cost

In the Event of Transport during labor

The package fee will remain the same should the midwife decide to transport you to a hospital at some point during your labor or immediate postpartum. If this occurs, your midwife will continue to offer support and will remain with you through whatever situation develops. She will continue with postpartum care following your discharge home. This support and advocacy at the hospital can be very valuable, and having an experienced person there whom you can trust makes the experience much more comfortable.

Finally, I remind you that money should not be the deciding factor in whether to birth at home, using the services of a midwife. Your belief in and commitment to homebirth, as well as your sense of your care provider’s commitment to you and to responsible childbearing and health care, should form the basis of your decision to work with her.

Insurance

If you have insurance with maternity benefits, our billing service will:

Have an expert verify your benefits to determine your out-of-plan benefits and co-insurance percentages – go to: http://larsenbilling.com/parents/vob/ to complete the form and initiate this process. Use my personal code: 07003
bill your insurance company after the initial prenatal visit, to determine what is likely to be covered
bill your insurance for everything else after the 3rd postpartum visit
follow up on your insurance claim until all reasonable appeals have been made, to obtain maximum coverage for your midwife and minimize your responsibility

We ask that you pay a deposit in advance of your delivery. This amount should reflect:

your anticipated out-of-plan deductible
anticipated co-insurance amounts (based on the co-insurance percentage that your plans pays after the deductible is satisfied)

Again, if you qualify for "financial hardship", the amount of your deductible that you must pay may be reduced or even waived. Contact me for information on that process.

The deposit is due in full by 37 weeks and will be determined after we verify your benefits.

By an early prenatal visit, you should outline a payment plan to pay the deposit. If the deposit cannot be paid in full by the 37th week, you must make other arrangements in writing to pay the necessary fees on a schedule to be determined.

Please note that there is no guarantee that your insurance will pay us, as some insurance plans cover midwifery services and some do not. We will attempt to determine prior to your delivery whether your insurance is likely to cover our services at out-of-network rates or not, but we cannot always be 100% accurate on this.

Our billing service may bill your insurance company for the following services related to your care, including but not limited to:

Initial visit
global fee for uncomplicated prenatal, delivery and postpartum care
intra-partum care complications managed outside the hospital
supplies
IV therapy
newborn exams & tests
postpartum home visits

We will bill your insurance company for all applicable codes that represent the care we provide to you at usual and customary rates for those codes. Depending on the course of your pregnancy and delivery, the amount billed may be greater than the basic global fee of $4000, as they may include additional services incurred in the management of any complications or unusual circumstances. Additionally, all services for your newborn are billed separately, since the baby is a new individual once he/she is born. The amount of the deposit has no bearing on the ultimate fees that will be billed to the insurance company.

You may be eligible for a partial refund of the deposit if the amount of your deposit is in excess of your deductible, co-insurance amounts, and billing fees.

If your insurance company reimburses you directly, which is not uncommon, you agree to contact us immediately. We will determine if any portion is yours to keep and how much you should send to us. It is not legal for you to profit from your healthcare; therefore, any amount reimbursed by insurance must be forwarded to us, along with applicable amounts to cover any remaining deductible, co-insurance, and billing fees.

For more details, contact me personally: 262-626-4994