A nosy question for the USA ladies among us

[ladyluck8181]

So I've been watching a lot of baby/pregnancy related programmes lately and a large percentage of these are American so I hope my question doesn't come across as too ignorant as that is not how I intend it to be at all, just curious really.

Tonight I've watched 'secretly pregnant' and the huge focus by both the ladies in the show was that they could not afford the babies, one was relying heavily on her mum already with her first born and was expecting twins.

Anyway my question is....... Is there no kind of standard government financial support or housing support? ie here we get child benefit, and tax credits. Child Benefit is at a standard rate as long as you're earning below a certain figure which far as I am aware is quite high, the equivelent of $31 for the first child and $20 per subsequent child per week. Tax credits varies on each case on things like income, how many children and premiums for disability etc. Then there is help if you are unemployed, single parents etc etc.

I hope someone can shed some light on this for me as I am really interested and when I tried searching on the net I came up with nothing.

TIA xx

 

[luz]

We have welfare and unemployment that you can collect, also programs that will give you free food. I've no experience with them, but from what I hear its a pain to fill out all the paperwork to get it.

 

[morri]

from what i have heard giving birth in the US costs something like 8000 dollars ..
because they really like to overcharge.

 

[girlnboots]

The amount of assistance you get here is directly proportionate to the amount of money you make. My OH and I make 8-9 dollars an hour (which is not much!) and we make "too much" to qualify for any kind of assistance. Even my low income secondary health insurance doesn't cover anything my main insurance won't, which, again, isn't much.

We make roughly 2.5 grand a month after taxes, and for 3 people in a family, you can't make more than 2. We barely make enough to pay our main bills and keep our bellies full as it is, so adding the extra medical bills is really hurting us.

 

[luz]

from what i have heard giving birth in the US costs something like 8000 dollars ..
because they really like to overcharge.

Yeah it's pretty ridiculous. I had government insurance for my first so I never saw the bill, but this time around I have insurance. That alone is $250 a month, but I do only have to pay 500$ for everything. Dr visits and the birth and hospital stay, so it's worth it!

 

[Kittycat155]

I miscarried but from what I saw I was able to get
Medicaid(still am able to apply for the er bill/up to 60 days after for any complications.
section 8 housing(WAIT LIST)
Food stamps
Wic(women infant children I would be able to stay on long as breast feeding or if not then till child turns 5 years)
From memory when someone I knew was on about 10 years ago she got some sort of subsidized childcare

All is based on your income/and some MAY be on child support. They have a poverty line and closer you are to it more you can get.

Only thing we really looked into was medicaid as no coverage and knew that was big issue.

 

[Pirate]

I don't think this is a nosy question at all. as a matter of fact, I have a lot of questions about things in the UK. No, there is no standard support. Like a pp said, ability to receive assistance is completely income based. If you qualify, there are various programs that can help, but only if you qualify. Unfortunately its a damned if you do and damned if you don't type of situation for a lot of people (please excuse the language). Its hard for people to have incentive to work if they know their benefits will be taken away (you loose more in benefits then you gain by working). Regardless of income, you get a deduction for each dependent each year when you file your taxes. We are DINKs (dual income no kids) so I have no idea what the deduction is.

We have pretty good insurance and if we ever manage to get pregnant, we will have to pay the $3000 deductible plus 10% of the remaining bill. So, the $8000 figure is probably pretty accurate im the city that I live in for a complication free delivery. My insurance costs $119 per pay (I am paid bi weekly) for just DH and I. If we ever have a child it will go up to over $200 per pay.

The more I learn about the UK (and I realize its not a problem free system) the more appealing it sounds. Seriously, to be able to go to the doctor or hospital without having to worry about a bill would be amazing.

 

[ladyluck8181]

Thank you for your answers.

It does make you realise just how fortunate we are here in the UK

 

[hayz_baby]

Defo think we are fortunate here in the uk as the nhs covers pretty much everything, i don't understand countries that charge so much for healthcare surely it's a right and not a privilege

Anyway that's totally ot so I am sorry. In the us is there a lot of people who commit benefit fraud, there's been a big thing about it here in the uk.

 

[Pirate]

I think benefit fraud is more common then anyone thinks it is. Doctors providing treatment that patients don't need, patients getting expensive drugs and then selling them on the street, etc.

You would think that healthcare would be a right and not a privilege, and technically it is because hospitals can not refuse to treat a patient based on inability to pay-but you will still get a (large) bill. In this country a cancer diagnosis can be financial ruin. Medial costs are one of the biggest reasons we've put off having a baby until this year (I'm 32).

 

[Kittycat155]

another fraud you will see is the parents selling the food stamp card(its a "credit card" like card you get loaded automatically I think on 1st of month.

They will sell it for cash. This tend to be popular with the druggies/drinkers so that they can free up cash. It makes my blood boil as you will see the kids eating chips or something dirt cheap so the parents can get wasted.

Food banks in general near me may ask for ID to verify your from the county but they do not track what you get so if you sell your entire food stamps you could go to a few food banks to get enough food.

I had a broken foot I did not get treated as I feared my bill and I was to some extent able to get around on it(was not working then)

 

[minties]

We have a system here similar to the UK. Because my partner and I are unemployed (trying all day every day! Have had a few interviews this week) we get a benefit that is over $600 a week. That includes tax credits for the kids (about $90 for Thomas and $60 for Sophie).

 

[Nut_Shake]

. Sorry wrong post!

 

[daneuse27]

I'm not American nor do I live in the US, however FOB's family does. His sister is a mother of 4 (two biological, and 2 from her oh's previous relationship) and she doesn't work. And her oh only makes $8/hour and they are getting by. They receive something called WIC (Women-infants-children) which is a sort of welfare for low-income mothers, and I believe they are also receiving other types of welfare too.

In her state, California, your healthcare is free if you earn below a certain amount. But I was told it varies by state, not all of them are that nice.

 

[girlnboots]

Wic is a nutritional program involving food vouchers. It basically supplies you with fruits, veggies, bread, milk, eggs, and peanut butter/beans. Way better than food stamps because you're forced to buy healthier foods instead of whatever you want.

Wic can also provide formula and baby food as well.

 

[mara16jade]

There are a few programs out there to help mother/families. I don't have any experience with them, but they do exist.

As for the cost of having a baby - it all depends on the family I suppose. Through my employer, I'd only pay about $200 a day for the hospital stay and then that's about it. Prenatal and postnatal care is included in my insurance (I pay about $80 a month in health insurance and my company pays the rest). And for full dental insurance, I pay about $8-10 a MONTH.

So like I said, I don't understand when people say it costs thousands to have a baby, or thousands for an operation, etc. only because I've always had insurance through an employer. I'm sure it would be totally different if I either didn't have insurance at all and pay out-of-pocket, or I had to pay 100% of the insurance with no help from my employer. I guess I've been pretty fortunate that every employer has offered health insurance coverage.

 

[Pirate]

@Mara, I think you may be forgetting about your deductible, costs for any specialists, costs for the infant, etc. when you give your cost figure. Usually the $200 a day hospital stay only covers the bed in the building and then they nickel and dime you to death with the cost of every IV, blood draw, etc. I'm sure your cost per pay for the insurance will go up once you add your soon to be husband to the policy (you usually have to do this within 30 days or wait until open enrollment-if they even allow spouses on the policy) or you have a baby. I don't mean to come across as a jerk, I've just learned about insurance the hard way.