Jan 7, 2020

Labor complications can double the cost of childbirth

Marisa Fernandez
Expand chart
Reproduced from Premier; Chart: Axios Visuals

Complications can nearly double the cost of delivering a baby, according an analysis from health care alliance company Premier.

Why it matters: More women are experiencing complications during labor — the rate rose by 36% from 2008 to 2018, per Premier.

  • Vaginal births with complications cost about 80% more, on average, than ones without complications.
  • Cesarean deliveries cost about double those with no complications.

A separate study, published Monday in Health Affairs, shows that out-of-pocket costs for maternity and childbirth care rose from $3,069 to $4,569 between 2008 and 2015, for women with employer-based insurance.

Go deeper: Medicaid expansion helps improve infant mortality rates

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Dion Rabouin

Many Americans still can't afford medical expenses

Reproduced from Gallup; Note: ±4 percentage point margin of error; Chart: Axios Visuals

The latest poll from Gallup shows more Americans are putting off medical care because of the cost.

Why it matters: Despite a declining unemployment rate and growing GDP, an increasing number of Americans say they are forgoing often necessary medical procedures because of the cost.

Go deeperArrowJan 15, 2020
Axios

America's heart disease epidemic

Illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios

Americans are increasingly dying of heart disease and strokes as they hit middle age — and the trend is happening across the country, according to a Wall Street Journal analysis of mortality rates.

Why it matters: It suggests "that the underlying causes of cardiovascular disease are universal and difficult to address," the Journal found.

Go deeperArrowJan 14, 2020
Alexi McCammond

Exclusive poll: Women lock in on 2020

Democratic women are gearing up to become even more engaged around the 2020 election than they've been in recent years, according to a new survey by American University's Women & Politics Institute and the Barbara Lee Family Foundation provided exclusively to Axios.

Go deeperArrowJan 22, 2020