Having a baby is of course an epochal event for American mothers, with virtually every aspect of the procedure being markedly memorable.
Including the bill and, often, the related challenges imposed by insurers centrally involved in the process.
At one time (we’re talking bygone days here), the financial obstacles linked with childbirth were generally minimal — at least manageable — for women in the United States. Legions of them were understandably concerned with the costs, but the outlays were for the most part confined and comprehensible. That is, they were predictable and transparent, with post-birth money surprises being few and less than seismic.
Things are now dramatically different, of course, which is a reality well underscored in one mother’s recently penned article for a national publication. She spotlights the sheer complexity and constant financial anxiety now posed by maternity, owing mostly to insurers’ unilateral billing actions that simply don’t seem to make much case in many instances.
Writer/mother Catherine Pearson notes that in her above-cited piece. She especially emphasizes that costs once routinely borne by coverage providers are now passed along to policyholders pursuant to myriad — and often changing — rules and dictates. Pearson stresses what many millions of Americans are now painfully aware of, namely, that plan administrators these days increasingly “impose cost-sharing, co-pays, co-insurance and deductibles” on their customers.
That frequently yields costs that are both unexpected and astronomical.
Insurance bills should not be opaque and impossible to understand, especially given that the challenges arising from them can lead to an individual’s or family’s financial ruin.
Questions or concerns regarding an insurer’s conduct or actions relevant to billing or another matter can be directed to an experienced and empathetic legal team of pro-policyholder insurance law attorneys.