Cost & Insurance Coverage
The cost of homebirth varies by where you are in the U.S. Those in urban areas may pay more than those in rural areas. Ask a homebirther in your area what they paid; if you have a local homebirth community, then they can tell you, too. Homebirth midwives will tell you what they charge when you inquire to their services.
Depending on your health insurer, your care may be covered in full or in part, or unfortunately, not at all. It depends on your plan. Some midwives have an insurance biller who will bill your health insurer directly, while other midwives ask families to seek reimbursement on their own. Also, Medicaid moms may find midwives who are Medicaid providers.
One mom writes about her struggle in having her insurance pay for homebirth (and for which it was covered 100%).
Remember that if you participate in a medical savings/health savings account, you can use the account for your homebirth expenses. Your midwife will need to give you a receipt to submit for reimbursement. You can use it in conjunction with insurance, too, for what insurance doesn't cover.
In 2004, according to the U.S. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality's HCUPnet, from the Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project, a normal pregnancy and/or delivery for hospital charges only [not including prenatal care] was $6,697*. The full course of homebirth prenatal, labor, birth, and post partum care is much less than this — in some areas, 1/2 - 1/3 of this cost.
Also, some states require insurance companies to cover homebirth if insurance policies or HMO contracts provide coverage for maternity care. New York, California and Florida are some states mandating such.
Ronnie Falcao, LM MS, a homebirth midwife in Mountain View, California, created and maintains the Midwife Archives. She suggests these links to get started: