Our baby was in the NICU for over 8 weeks, it was a blessing to have company sponsored health insurance to cover his birth and subsequent care. The total bill for his care was well over $200,000.
In the end I was only out of a small amount of money compared to the cost of his care.
I was grateful that after delivery I was connected to a hospital social worker that provided me with a list of resources to help with caring for my son after during and after his NICU stay.
Here are four resources that can help with the cost of caring for your miracle baby.
Miracle Babies
One resource was Miracle Babies, an organization that provides financial resources and other supportive services to families of babies needing NICU care.
Our baby’s hospital had a Miracle Babies program specific to their NICU and encouraged families to apply for financial assistance to help with gas and other expenses associated with long NICU stays.
Babies had to be admitted to the NICU for a minimum number of days before families were eligible to apply.
Ronald McDonald House
I wanted to be near my baby while he was in the hospital, which was about 40 minute drive away.
I researched the Ronald McDonald House near our hospital since I’d read that they provide temporary housing for families of babies in the NICU.
Although I didn’t qualify (the hospital wasn’t far enough away), it’s still a good resource for families of babies that are admitted in another state or city. I was told that the hospital had to be at least 50 miles away from my home.
Medicaid
Our state’s Medicaid program was a life saver for us, saving us hundreds of dollars in out of pocket expenses. Regardless of income, premature babies meeting certain requirements are eligible to receive
Medicaid coverage to meet the costs that private insurance doesn’t cover. In my case, Medicaid cover all co-pays, co-insurance and deductibles left over after our private insurance covered their portion.
We were covered for six months after our son was discharged. The key is to sign-up as soon as you can, although our coverage was retroactive to the date he became eligible.
Supplementary Security Income (SSI)
We were told that we could possible receive a small monthly amount ($30) to help with our son’s care while he was admitted to the hospital.
However, after applying we received not only the $30 monthly but a lump sum amount of $600.
Its best to call these resources on your own as some of the information you receive from the hospital may be outdated.
To qualify we contacted our local Social Security Administration office via phone so that they could attain our son’s medical records and advise of what would be needed for the application.
A phone interview was set-up for a couple of week later. I answered questions regarding our family’s income, assets, etc. and was approved the same day.
I received a check for the next month and was advised I would need to receive future payments on a debit card that would be sent through the mail.
The process was easy and I didn’t have to worry about physically going into an office. Call the SSA at 800-772-1213 to set up an appointment as soon as possible to have your application considered.
