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Couple left with $200k bill after baby born in US
(www.bbc.co.uk)
Do not travel to the US
why would you go there??? this couple was asking for it
Did you see how they were dressed my god
If i take a boat and sail to a known cannibal island, where people like me have gone and been eaten before, and I then get eaten, there's no one to blame but me. The US is simply not a good place to travel to at this time. It would have been even more hell for them if they had to over stay their visa.
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Their baby was born in an American hospital seven weeks early, but the couple said Zurich Insurance Group refused to uphold the policy and cover their costs because the baby was not named in the document.
After a nine month legal battle, Zurich has reversed its decision and told the BBC it was sorry for the stress caused.
The unborn child that isn't allowed to have a name yet needs to be named in the document.
You can just imagine whoever made that decision letting out an evil laugh.
The legal proceedings had more time to mature than the baby lol
I love the 'Achually, you are supposed to beg the hospitals and rely on your insurance shady deals." Comments in this thread.
Just so we are clear, you know the US is the only country with running water that also charges it's citizens to remain alive, right?
This is NOT normal. Not the amount, the situation.
My son was born at 24 weeks. Modern NICUs are an absolute marvel. They took this tiny little guy at the cusp of viability to a healthy, happy, normal baby boy over the next three months.
The pricetag for this treatment was half a million dollars. But, fortunately, we were eligible for Medicaid. A sum that would have bankrupted us was neatly covered by the state.
I was born at 28 weeks 5 decades ago.
$0 .
Very fortunate
Except tax payers now get to send their hard earned money directly to the leeches that work at insurance companies.
No matter if the system works out for individuals with insurance Americans get screwed with the way it is at the moment.
You all need to fight for universal health care so that shit isn't marked up 5000% so that insurances companies make billions for doing nothing but complicate everything
Sylvester said the couple "made 100% sure Issy was insured to be pregnant, and any complications involving pregnancy whilst we were abroad were covered".
Sylvester explained: "Essentially what they said is that we would have been covered had the baby not survived. But the fact was that the baby survived."
"We weren't going to be covered for that, because we didn't put his name on the insurance policy."
As someone that wouldn't choose to travel into or through the United States, I can't say I would be surprised if I got back home after this ordeal and the medical bills started showing up. US healthcare will charge for anything under the sun. I half expect visitors will be sent invoices for travelling in the vicinity of a hospital in the near future.
The insurance on question is not American, but from their home country. The ridiculous price is American though
I realise that, my connecting thought was that the hospital looking at their insurance policy should have been able to understand the pregnancy was covered. Even with it being unclear due to the contract's wording, it should have triggered the billing department contacting the insurer for clarification.
That's not how America works though, they operate on a 'invoice first, ask questions later' approach. If one in a thousand bills get paid without question, the superfluousness is considered justified. Oh well, I would add this to my list of reasons to avoid the country if it weren't so long already.
There's so, so, so, so, so much I could say about this topic.
Number 1: Why are any of you cunts even coming to the USA anymore? Sincerest apologies for victim blaming, and obviously my stupid ass has not read the article (gonna do that later).
Number 2: US healthcare costs are a scam.
Number 3: Healthcare insurance is a gamified scam.
The dates are not clear on the article, but it's possible that the birth was even pre Trump.. the couple was touring, they're musicians.
Insurance company trying to evade one job it is supposed to do
You get hired to help out a business in a emergency situation. You do nothing and get paid month after month. A couple years go by and finally the phone rings.
Hey man, we really need you right now! Come on in!
"Claim denied, I will see you in court."
insurance
"But what about helping our people Bob!?"
After a nine month legal battle, Zurich has reversed its decision and told the BBC it was sorry for the stress caused.
Yeah, very sorry I'm sure. Oopsie, we accidentally fought a nine month legal battle to avoid paying out the exact thing the insurance is for
Arguing the care wasn't covered because the baby wasn't named in the insurance despite explicitly covering pregnancy-related care is ghoulish behavior. I can't fathom how you can argue that seriously and not feel like a piece of shit.
"We've now strengthened and clarified our wording and guidance so other families travelling abroad at this stage of a pregnancy do not have to go through this experience."
TLDR: the next couple is fucked
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"I don't think we've ever sort of lost the feeling that there isn't a wolf at the door".
This captures the current American experience perfectly.
Ah yes, the United States -- Don't get sick or you will have to fight tooth and nail to get your insurance company to pay for necessary medical care. This is a story heard over and over again stateside. If the U.S. was truly the best place in the world to live, this would simply not happen. As a person who has worked in healthcare in the U.S. for over 15 years, I feel this in my bones. I am glad you could get legal help and have the right outcome based on what you paid for. I would love nothing more than to see everyone who comes to the U.S. receive medical care appropriately -- Nobody asks to get sick :(
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US health insurance pulled the same shitty tactic on me with my first born.
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The shitty American medical system being what it is I gotta blame the travel insurance. If their insurance was supposed to cover it and didn’t, that’s an insurance problem.
used to be anchor babies, now is trapped in debt babies
Just don't pay, what are they going to do?
Convict you in absentia then use the judgement as an excuse to freeze your bank account and ban you from all forms of banking (something that the US has the power to impose on foreigner because they hold every western bank by the balls due to their reliance on the fed)?
I don't know if they would do it, but it certainly wouldn't be unconstitutional; the US have long made it clear that foreigners on foreign land don't have any legal rights whatsoever. I would be having a long conversation with lawyers to get some hard assurances before going down that path.
Part of why medical bills in the US are so high is because if you don't pay them, they sell the debt to collections at pennies on the dollar.
Which means that the people who do pay the high prices are paying for those who don't or can't or won't.
Stop paying.
I'm curious, what happens if you just don't pay? What if you just go back home and never come back?
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And they wonder why our population is free falling. Between trump and it's too expensive, why would the wise ones do that?
insurance in general in the us is increasingly security theater. Not just medical.
Just don't pay it.
Only $200k? They got a deal there.
"Why is no one having babies anymore?"
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this post was submitted on 21 Feb 2026
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