Map reveals where it will cost you $40,000 to give BIRTH... as natural-born population risks going 'extinct'

Daily Mail​

2 days ago

Americans living in 10 states may have to fork over nearly $30,000 to give birth, shocking new data reveals.
In Alaska, mothers opting for a vaginal birth can expect to receive a bill for $29,000, including both insurance and out-of-pocket costs.
Going with a C-section? That will be an extra $10,000 for moms living in America's 49th state, twice the national average.
For vaginal births, which just over 66 percent of American women choose, New York and New Jersey followed closely behind, both costing about $21,800.
Connecticut and California rounded out the top five priciest states to have a vaginal birth, totaling $20,600 and $20,400, respectively.
And for the 1.2million women in the US who undergo a C-section every year, Maine and Vermont were the two most expensive states behind Alaska, each costing roughly $28,800.
States rounding out the list of most expensive C-sections were Oregon and New Jersey, with price tags of $28,700 and $26,900.
Meanwhile, women giving birth in Mississippi paid the least on average for both vaginal birth and C-sections. A typical vaginal birth in the Magnolia state runs roughly $9,900, while a C-section is about $11,100.
The rankings, compiled by health insurance claims analyst FAIR Health, are based on records from 51billion commercial health insurance claims filed nationwide within the last several years.
All services were considered in-network, meaning insurance covered some of all of the costs and a patient paid the remaining balance.
The costs account for both the portions paid by the patients and by the insurance companies.
Services included vaginal or C-section delivery, anesthesia, ultrasounds, lab work, breast pumps and fetal nonstress tests, which measure a fetus' heart rate and movement in the womb.
The average vaginal birth in the US is $15,200, whereas a C-section costs $19,300.
C-sections tend to cost more than vaginal births because they need more specialized surgical equipment and often require longer hospital stays and more involved post-operative care.
Recent research suggests the cost of childbirth in the US increased 22 percent from 2017 to 2021, a factor potentially driving America's fertility crisis.
The current fertility rate reached a new low of 1.6 births per woman, according to a new CDC report.
This is well below the 2.1 needed to sustain population growth. It's also a sharp decline from 3.5 in 1960 and 2.1 in the 1990s, showing women are having far fewer children than their mothers and grandmothers.
Young Americans have also cited a shifting focus on their careers and climate change as reasons for not having children.
Experts previously told DailyMail.com that while the US has not seen a 'downward trend economically' in the way countries like South Korea, Japan, or Germany have, the effects of depopulation in the US would be 'detrimental.'
They fear depopulation would put a significant strain on the job market and drastically reduce the number of workers in the country. This would drive up the cost of goods.
Dr Abigail Hall, an associate professor of economics at the University of Tampa, told DailyMail.com: 'Economically speaking, depopulation is detrimental for economic growth.'
As the population dwindles, there will be fewer people to pay off the nation's debt. For example, the Heritage Foundation estimates a baby born in 2007 will assume $30,500 in debt. However, a baby born in 2020 will assume $59,000.
Dr Hall said: 'One thing people would probably witness is that it's going to be harder to find people to fill jobs.'
In FAIR Health's analysis, Alaska was the most expensive state for vaginal and C-section births. The former added up to $29,152 while the latter was $39,532.
This could be due to one in five Alaskans living in remote locations, meaning medical supplies and personnel have to be transported by air, driving up costs.
Rural areas also have fewer hospitals to choose from, leading to many increasing costs since there is little competition.
New York, New Jersey and Connecticut all followed closest behind Alaska for the cost of vaginal births. Costs in these states range from $20,600 to $21,800.
The Northeast has a generally higher cost of living and rent than the rest of the country, driving up overall hospital stay and material prices. The area also has a high concentration of academic, renowned medical centers like Columbia, Yale New-Haven and NYU Langone, which tend to charge more.
California, which rounds out the top five most expensive states for a vaginal birth at $20,390, requires insurance companies to cover many maternity-related screenings that aren't mandatory in other states, which tends to drive up overall total cost.
The list varied for C-section births. Following close behind Alaska was Maine with a cost of $28,794. Like Alaska, a significant portion of residents - 61 percent - live in rural areas, limiting their access to a variety of hospitals.
Rural hospitals often have lower patient volumes but still have to pay to keep facilities open, so they typically charge more per patient to afford these costs. The same is true for Vermont, where it costs $28,747 on average to have a C-section.
Oregon and New Jersey rounded out the top five C-section states, totaling $28,708 and $26,896.
Meanwhile, Mississippi was the cheapest state to give birth either vaginally or via C-section. The former costs $9,847 while the latter is $11,110 on average.
More than half of births in Mississippi are covered by Medicaid, according to the latest available data, which significantly lowers overall costs.
Births in Mississippi are also more likely to occur in lower-cost community hospitals without advanced, costly facilities.
Alabama, Arkansas, Louisiana and Tennessee also ranked closely behind, with costs ranging from $10,000 to $11,500 for a vaginal birth and $11,500 to $15,000 for a C-section.