Basic Fees
The fee for midwifery services is $3500*. This basic fee includes all prenatal visits including one home visit, on-call fee; labor, birth and immediate postpartum care. Laboratory test and ultrasound fees for mom and baby and birth tub rental for homebirths are not included in the basic midwifery fees.
Cash Pay Early Bird Payment Plan
Individuals who are uninsured or whose insurance will not cover our fees and have paid in full by five weeks before their due date will receive a 15% discount. Their fee for midwifery services will be $2975 instead of $3500.
Birth Center Fees
An additional facility fee of $2500 will be charged for birth center births, and is covered by most insurance companies and OHP. This fee is reduced to $2125 if prepaid by 35 weeks of pregnancy. This fee includes birthing tub use at the center. If you are planning on having your baby at the birth center, you will need to pay both the midwife and facility fees, totaling $6000, or $5100 if you are an early bird.
Payment Schedule
Please come by for a complimentary consultation and tour of our facilities. If you decide to work with us on your "baby project" we will schedule your first prenatal visit. We accept all major credit cards and you may also set up a payment plan. A payment of $250 is expected at the initial prenatal visit, with minimum payments of $100 each prenatal visit. A total of $800 of the midwifery fee is non-refundable, and is due no later than the 28th week of pregnancy. Please let your midwife know if you are experiencing financial hardship, so we can work out alternative arrangements such as an extended payment plan.
Oregon Health Plan
As Licensed Direct Entry Midwives, we are able to accept Oregon Health Plan/OMAP. You must hold an open card, which means that you cannot be previously enrolled in a managed care plan. If you qualify for Oregon Health Plan the best strategy is to apply for coverage at the beginning of your third trimester of pregnancy (28 weeks of pregnancy); prior to that time it is impossible to receive an open card. Please let us know if you think you may qualify for OHP so we can discuss the details of coverage.
Insurance
Most insurance companies cover licensed midwifery care. Bring your insurance information with you to your consultation and we will have our professional insurance biller do the investigative work for you. We have great success with billing many insurance companies! HMOs will not recognize free-standing birth centers as legitimate care, so if you are planning to use our services you may wish to discuss this prejudice with your human resource person. Companies are able to add on licensed birth centers with Certified Professional Midwives to their plan. It is an option with companies that use Blue Cross Blue Shield and other major insurers. Some women have influenced their employers to make this change before they conceive, so they can enjoy full coverage.
Do the math. Your insurance company refuses to cover a birth center birth, but will pay 80% for hospital care. The cost for a normal vaginal birth is about $15,000 in the hospital (with 26% of women "needing"cesarean sections which inflates the cost up to $30,000). Your 20% responsibility will be $3000-6000. It may be a savings to hire midwives and pay out of pocket, or at least may be the same as going to the hospital for birth. It is also prevention for unnecessary cesarean sections.
Clients Talk About Midwifery Fees
"This is such inexpensive care! I paid the same amount for a hospital birth twenty years ago". ~ Grandmother of baby Wyatt
"At first I thought there is no way I'm going to pay 4,000 dollars out-of-pocket for a birth center birth! My HMO wouldn't cover my delivery out of the hospital. I cried, partly because I was early pregnant and cried a lot, but also I really wanted to have my baby at a birth center. The hospital birth would have been free. Then I thought about all the things we plunk money down on: our entertainment center, bedroom set, vacations etc. I decided to splurge on Sam's birth. It was worth it. I had him in the water and I will NEVER forget his little face coming up out of the water. He looked right at me. It was all really calm and gentle and worth every cent!" ~ Laura, mother to Samuel
"It was kind of hard to come up with the money to pay the midwives, but I figured I'm not going to give birth too many times and this is the only time this baby will be born." ~ Emily after Lilly's birth
*Prices current as of August, 2008. All fees subject to change.
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~ ALMA Midwifery Service ~ Licensed Birth Center ~ Homebirth ~ Waterbirth ~ ~ Phone 503.233.3001 ~ FAX 503.233.7686 ~ 1608 SE Ankeny St. Portland, OR. 97214 ~ |
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