Vaginal delivery hospital stay, no complications in San Francisco, CA: hospital prices

MS-DRG 807 is the hospital stay for an uncomplicated vaginal birth: labor and delivery room, nursing, the mother's postpartum room for one or two nights, supplies and medications. It is the most common reason for a hospital admission in the United States.

What the price covers, and what it does not

The DRG covers the mother's stay. It does not include the obstetrician or midwife (billed as the global package, 59400), the anesthesiologist for an epidural, the newborn's own stay and pediatric care, which is billed to the baby separately, or laboratory tests. A self-pay family should expect at least three bills: mother's stay, baby's stay and the delivering clinician.

Why prices vary

The hospital stay for the same uncomplicated birth varies two to four times between hospitals in the same metro area. Academic centers and large systems list the highest charges; community hospitals and birth centers the lowest. Many hospitals offer a fixed self-pay maternity package well below the sum of the list prices; ask for it by name.

Questions to ask

• What is the self-pay price for DRG 807, and what is the newborn's stay?
• Is there an all-inclusive self-pay maternity package?
• What do the epidural and the delivering clinician cost?