Cost of care

Accessible Midwifery Care

Whether birthing at home or at our beautiful birth studio, we aim to make community birth accessible to everyone. This means we have priced our care at a reasonable value for the investment of your lifetime.

Midwife led care and home birth have much lower costs overall compared to hospital birth, as well as increased client satisfaction, and clearly proven healthy outcomes for birthing people and their babies. However, out-of-hospital births represent only a tiny fraction of all births in the U.S., and the American health insurance system is not set up to recognize and reimburse this model of care appropriately.

Hospital birth and physician led care are well integrated into the insurance system, but despite that fact, families are often surprised by large, unanticipated medical bills after their care is complete. There is little to no transparency from hospitals and insurance companies about expected out of pocket costs before care is received. It is not uncommon for a family’s out of pocket cost for hospital birth after insurance to equal or exceed the average cost of midwife care and home birth.

In the private midwifery model, families are asked to pay the fee up front over the course of pregnancy, but the fee is fixed, and costs are known ahead of time. This allows for planning and budgeting, and avoids the shock of unexpected or higher than expected bills after the fact, when it is too late to consider other options or change course. The cost of midwife care can sound high at first glance, but in truth it delivers far greater value in time spent and scope of support than the standard offered in hospitals today.

STRUCTURE OF CARE AND COSTS

Midwife Attended Birth At Home

• Approximately 10 to 13 prenatal visits, 60 minutes each.
• Birth attended at your home by the same midwife/midwife team who provided prenatal care. Two midwives and possibly a student attend each birth. Face to face time with midwife during labor, birth and immediate postpartum is typically 8-16 hours or longer as needed. All hands-on care and assessments are done by the midwives.
• Freedom to move, eat, rest as you wish. Labor and birth in any position in any area of your home. Deep water labor tub and water birth available.
• If a transfer of care from home to hospital is needed, midwife provides detailed records, facilitates the transfer, accompanies the parent(s) and acts as an advisor and support person throughout the remainder of the labor and birth when possible. Midwives may take breaks or take turns staying with the family if the birth is very long.
• Four postpartum and newborn care visits, including lactation counseling, 60-90 minutes each including two that occur at home. Birthing person and baby are seen as linked, and are cared for in relationship to each other. Both are evaluated and supported at each visit for clinical factors as well as mental and emotional health. Newborn care through six weeks is part of midwifery scope of practice. There is no need for new parents and new babies to leave the house in the first days and weeks to access care, reducing stress, speeding recovery, enhancing breastfeeding, and reducing exposure to pathogens.
• Continuity of care with same 1-2 midwives throughout the childbearing year.
• 24/7 direct access to midwife during due date window and early postpartum period.
• Individualized care based on birthing person’s values, desires and choices.
• In-depth informed choice and collaborative decision-making is ongoing. Client autonomy is central. Minimal intervention is the norm. Care is subject to some legal restrictions (Licensed Midwives in LA are legally prohibited from attending multiples and known breeches at home, and can legally only attend home births between 37 and 42 weeks gestation, etc.).
• Independent providers can be very agile in updating practices and recommendations based on new evidence and research, as well as client preferences.
• Cost of midwife care is fixed and is known up front. No surprise charges. Midwife fee does not increase if additional visits are needed or care becomes more complicated. (Deep water labor tub is included in midwife fee. Some lab work, ultrasounds and birth supply kit are additional costs.)
• No facility/hospital fees (at this time).
• Payments can be planned and budgeted in advance.
• No payments to make after the birth.
• Insurance coverage is not guaranteed, and LMs are out of network providers for all plans. However, clients can rest assured that even if insurance does not cover midwife care, their out of pocket fees to the midwife are capped and will not exceed the predetermined retainer amount.
• If a transfer of care from home to hospital is needed, client is responsible for the additional costs and in most cases this is where insurance coverage occurs.
• Total time spent face to face with the midwife/midwife team: approximately 28-40 hours, or longer as needed. No time limit.
• Cost of Care: When midwife care is itemized and billed to insurance, claims for the average course of care total between $10,000-$25,000. This is what would be billed to insurance, if applicable. Clients benefit from a discounted package fee of $6000 – $6500. Depending upon insurance coverage, client may receive some reimbursement, lowering their out of pocket cost for midwife care. Kit of birth supplies costs about $115, and is ordered and paid for separately by the client. Fees for lab work and ultrasounds may be billed to insurance by the lab or technician, or may be paid out of pocket by the client. Costs to the client for these services, after insurance, usually range from $0 to $1000, depending upon which services are accessed and insurance plan benefits.
• If a transfer of care from home to hospital is needed or desired, client is responsible for costs related to hospital/physician care, in accordance with insurance plan benefits.