Summary
Some women are being asked to prepay for their baby, a practice that is legal but considered unethical by patient advocacy groups.
The practice is driven by the high cost of maternity care and the way it is billed in the U.S., where bundled billing has become outdated.
Critics say this exacerbates maternity care inequities, with families left to navigate unclear costs and insurance complexities amid rising healthcare expenses.
Bruh, the US is becoming like China.
In China people are expected to prepay for treatment, even life-threatening emergency treatment. Its actually a common trope in Chinese TV drama that a poor person cannot afford an expensive emergency surgery and just so happens to have a relative/friend that became rich and they have to ask their rich relative/friend to pay for the surgery. When I left, its commonly understood that hospital emergency room can deny medical care if you do not pre-pay or show proof of insurance coverage (which most people do not have), I don’t know what its like now, hopefully its different now.
Its not to say the US sending you a 6 digit bill for emergency care is great either, but at least in the US, they save your life first, then bankrupt you, in China, they just tell you to get the fuck out and let you die.
The US now asking people to pre-pay for healthcare is not a good sign, I fear they will eventually be asking for pre-payment even in life-threatening emergency situations.