The Bills Are In

I did this for Kole too, but we finally have all the bills in from the birth of Karissa. It's actually easier just to skip all of Kathy's prenatal care and OB check-ups. We'll just call that squaring-away our deductible.
The first bill in was for Karissa - this was essentially her hospital bill for being cared for and housed for four days. Technically it was Wednesday through Saturday, but from hour to hour it probably added up to just over 36 hours. This cost was $6,671.97 ... and that is the total, not the balance due after insurance.
The next bill was for Kathy - essentially her OB/hospital bill for the C-section and after care in the hospital. Total cost was $10,590.60.
So, the total tab for walking into Arlington Memorial Hospital, having a baby via C-section, then walking out three days later with no complications to speak of and both mother and child relatively healthy - $17,262.57.
I have what I consider to be top-notch health coverage from my employer, entertainment bulldog Fox. I have United Healthcare and I pay top dollar for the PPO program. I won't say what my out-of-pocket tab is from all that, but if I added up every house bill I have - mortgage, electricity, gas, cable/internet/phone, City/water, etc. - the balance from all this baby activity and my out-of-pocket expense easily tops the sum of all those bills, and then some.
Oh ... then came the bill from Cook Children's Hospital for that 3-day nailbiter: $11,948.47, again before out-of-pocket. That's 30-gees in the span of about two weeks. Ouch.
I'll just say this - thank God for health insurance, and for a career that allows me access to it. And I don't mean that facetiously.