Monthly costs of living and giving birth fees in Houston (Sugar Land: apartment, to rent)

[wsbeih]

Dear All,
My wife (a US Citizen) and I are living in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). We are expecting the issuance of my immigration visa through the US Embassy within a month hopefully. After I receive the Visa, we will move to stay in Houston. I would really appreciate your input on the followings:
1- My wife is pregnant and we are expecting a newborn in May. please advise us of a good hospital and the expected fees for delivery knowing that we may not be having insurance by that time.
2- what would be the expected monthly costs of living for 2 adults and 1 newborn, knowing that we are looking to rent a 1 bedroom apartement in Sugar Land.

I really appreciated your assistance and thanks in advance

Regards,
Wael

[cheryjohns]

Since she is pregnant, I would seriously re-think coming here at that time, since you may not have insurance. It is going to be quite expensive, if everything goes well. The least little hiccup could result in many, many more thousands of dollars.

[wsbeih]

Thanks for the advice. still i would be thankful if you can at least give me an idea of approximate fees.

[imcurious]

I am sorry, I am not familiar with the area, but have you considered home birth with a midwife if it is not a high-risk pregnancy? That would for sure save money and could be a great experience for all if you would be comfortable with that.

Does "Yelp" review hospitals?

[phaedra_p]

I had a baby here last year. I had insurance but I can give you a very general idea what to expect.

If you have an uncomplicated birth, expect to pay around $10,000 for everything (you get separate bills from the hospital, obstetrician, anesthesiologist, pediatrician, and any other specialist you may need).

imcurious is right about the midwife. You can get a much cheaper birth if you use one of them (no epidural, though, and they will not do a complicated birth, because they are not doctors). I'm not totally sure of the cost but my guess would be $2000 or less?

Like cheryjohns said, any complication will increase the cost. For example, friends of mine just had a baby with a serious kidney problem. She was hospitalized for 3 months. The hospital bill alone cost over $250,000 (not including doctor bills).

There's a reason why the number 1 cause of bankruptcy in the US is medical debt. I am thankful for the quality of our care, but it comes at a cost.

Hospitals: I had a good experience and Clear Lake Regional Medical Center. Also, Woman's Hospital comes highly recommended. I know people who have driven from Clear Lake into Houston just for the quality of care at Woman's.

[Proud2bPinoy]

just curious, so how much do they pay at ben taub? i read a lot of non-insured go there?

to OP, if it's cesarean, around $20,000 at memorial hermann including everything because everybody bills separately. i know first hand because my son was born there. we had insurance though.

[Texascrude]

I'll echo previous comments. A birth that goes perfectly will cost you about $10,000. If you're uninsured, you'll be able to bring that cost down some by opting out of an epidural and insisting that you don't stay in the hospital the full two days (which I think is a scam to begin with, but I won't get on my soap box right now).

If you have some complications, but still a healthy child / mother, you'll probably add another $5,000 to $10,000 depending on what's wrong. If your child turns out to have health problems, you'll run into the tens and maybe even hundreds of thousands.

The healthcare here is the best in the world, but the system does not favor the uninsured.

As for your question about living expenses -- You should be able to get a 1 bedroom apartment in Sugar Land for under $800. Gas here is just under $3.00 a gallon, so you can figure out how much you'd need. Utilities during the winter will be pretty low -- should be under $100 for gas, electric, and water. If you are able to get health insurance through an employer here, that'll be between $300 and $500 a month for your family depending on the set up. If you get your own insurance, around $1,000 a month and will vary based on your coverage.

[tmc300]

We were in a similar situation last year. I called a few hospitals in Houston and asked how much it will cost if I pay for all the medical cost myself. The hospital told me that the total will be about $13,000 for a smooth delivery. I recall that $10K was only for the hospital. You still need to pay the doctor. So, the total will be around $13K.

BTW, your wife will also need pre-natal care, which will cost you extra.

[Houston3]

Just do what the illegals do in Houston, go to a county hospital and let the Harris county homeowners pay the bill... Problem solved...

[chris_ut]

If your paying cah you can negotiate the price up front with the hospital. My wife had our son via c-section at Kingwood Medical Center and we paid $5000 to the hospital plus maybe another $1000 to other billings, we also negotiated a lower price with the OB who did the checkups and delivered. I think our totals cost for the pregnancy was $9,000.