The cost of Canadian healthcare drove one Prince George family to give birth in their car.
In the Wednesday edition of The Citizen, it was explained how Chelsea and Kevin Cutler were on their way to the Emergency Room at University Hospital when baby Jack came into the world a few streets before they arrived. Kevin caught the babe in one arm while he drove with the other.
What caused the Cutlers to be on the road was not just the pains of labour. Chelsea is an American from Alaska and her marriage almost a year ago to local man Kevin was not enough to trigger healthcare coverage. Nor was healthcare extended to unborn Jack, despite his appointed arrival on Canadian soil.
The Cutlers were unaware that giving birth to Jack in a Canadian hospital would cost them untold thousands of dollars. They found out by chance when they were hit with an unexpected bill for a routine procedure.
"We found all this out when I went to get my blood drawn," said Chelsea. "To do that was $276, which kind of caught me off guard and, when we asked about that, we found out all these other costs would get charged to us. Thousands of dollars. We had no idea, and nobody told us."
They were told the bill just for staying over in the hospital, a recommended two- to three-day proposition for any birth, would be approximately $3,000 per day. Other services for the birth, like epidural drugs and anesthesiologist, would be extra and expensive.
"We recognize that facing a bill associated with birth can be stressful, but B.C. has a responsibility to protect the health care system for British Columbians and ensure that the system is sustainable," said Ministry of Health spokesperson Kait Richardson. "It's important that we respect patient privacy, so we cannot comment on the specifics of this case. In general, a C-Section costs $4,600 while a vaginal delivery costs around $2,800. However, these costs can vary greatly depending on any number of factors, including how long the individual is in hospital and any complications they may experience."
Consequently, the Cutlers had little financial choice but to opt for a home birth. They could afford a midwife on a fee-for-service basis much more easily. Circumstances conspired at home, however, requiring them to make a 15 minute drive, but it was a 14 minute delivery.
The Cutlers got married the better part of a year ago and had been in their relationship longer than that. An estimated $5,000 has already been spent by the couple on the immigration process, and Chelsea has to go back home to the U.S. every six months for a six-week obligatory stay just to keep her visitor visa legal.
"The process is too lengthy, too involved, and there are no real answers as you go through the process; you are always getting hit with unexpected stuff because nobody involved tells you all this stuff as you go," said Kevin. "If we get married, she is my wife, these are my children, this is my baby, born in my country. Why can't we get the same coverage as always?"
Chelsea has two children from a previous relationship, so they, too have cost issues.
They have grudgingly withheld them from doctor's visits when they seemed sick because they, too, would cost a hefty price, the couple said, and they also aren't allowed to stream them directly into any local schools due to education system protocols, so their education is being impacted.
"I never would have known if it hadn't happened to us, but we are not the kind country we are all led to believe we are," said Kevin.
Richardson said the rules around becoming eligible for healthcare coverage are federal. Incoming American visitors are encouraged to buy healthcare insurance back in the U.S. just as Canadians should not cross the USA line without buying insurance covering them out of country.
