The Kaiser Family Foundation has released a study that compares out-of-pocket costs of maternity care under 12 consumer-directed health plans (CDHPs) from the group and individual markets with a traditional health insurance plan. The study, Maternity Care and Consumer-Driven Health Plans, prepared by researchers at the Georgetown Health Policy Institute and Kaiser, found great variation among CDHPs compared with traditional health plans in the amount of potential out-of-pocket expenses a family could face. Because the cost of maternity care varies by the type and nature of the delivery, cost estimates were developed for three different birth scenarios based on recommended clinical practice guidelines. These were used to analyze the differences in out-of-pocket costs that families with CDHPs might experience compared with a more traditional health plan. For example, for an uncomplicated pregnancy with a vaginal delivery, the total allowable costs were estimated to run $9,660 and out-of-pocket costs under a traditional health insurance policy would total $1,455, compared with $3,000 to $7,884 for CDHPs.
The study also explored other factors that affect family costs, including coverage for prenatal care, transparency and limits in healthcare coverage, and predictability of costs. Read the report.
