I mean, honestly. Does this even need to be said?
Apparently, the answer is “Yes.”
As you’ve probably seen and/or heard, Reddit user “halfthrottle” and his wife recently welcomed their newborn son into the world. And although the couple expected to receive a hospital bill for their visit, what they didn’t expect was to get charged actual moneys for the opportunity to hold their newborn baby.
Yup. The hospital legitimately charged them $39.95 American for the privilege of holding their own baby for the very first time.
Or, in hospital-speak, to have “Skin to Skin After C-Sec.” Here’s a picture of said bill:
I don’t really understand how that kind of thing gets quantified in the first place…how exactly do you land on $39.95 as an appropriate price for “Skin to Skin After C-Sec”? Why couldn’t it be a round $40? Or, I dunno…maybe free?
I also love that this particular hospital refers to people needing medical attention in terms of “encounter numbers”…well, gee, don’t we all feel special now.
To make matters worse, it turns out that their nurse had offered for the parents to hold their child…but didn’t even let them know that they’d get charged for it!
During the C-section the nurse asked my wife if she would like to do skin to skin after the baby was born. Which of course anyone would say yes too. We just noticed it in the bill today and had a laugh. All these internet points I’ve been showered with make me feel better about the $40. This could be my proudest moment as a father.”
And I think the hospital’s pretty lucky that he found the charge funny…rather than wildly inappropriate.
Now, I’m not naive. I’m very aware of the fact that hospitals and insurance companies find ridiculous ways to get more money out of us. In fact, I feel like it’s gotten to the point where someone needs to amend Benjamin Franklin’s adage to read, “In this world, nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes…and excessive amounts of medical bills.”
However, I do think that there’s a limit to how much hospitals and insurance companies should be able to get away with charging. Yes, they are providing us with services that keep us alive, and that’s extremely important. But, they should also recognize that some things in life are not privileges, they’re rights. Some things in life are too priceless to have a price tag put on them.
One of those life moments is the chance to be able to hold your child for the very first time. That should be a given, and that should be free of charge.
What do you think of this story? How would you have reacted if you’d gotten this bill in the mail?
