Financial Investment

 

At Devotion Midwifery, we want midwifery care to be accessible to everyone, which is challenging in our patchwork system of health insurance, insufficient coverage for out-of-hospital midwives, and poor insurance reimbursement for care providers. Because we value more accessible midwifery care in our communities, we offer a sliding fee scale, payment plans, are happy to submit insurance claims for possible reimbursement, and we are open to many kinds of trade or barter for care.  

We also value and respect the deep level of time, energy, care, love, support, and commitment that we put into our work as midwives. For that reason, we ask that you thoughtfully and honestly consider where you and your family are on the sliding scale below. This is a starting point for our conversation about fees so we can come to an arrangement that will work for all of us.  

Devotion Midwifery Standard Fee: $8,000

$5,500

Maternity care for prenatal, birth, and postpartum is $8,000. A $2500 discount is given for “cash pay”, “early pay”, “direct pay”. Essentially, anyone not using or filing insurance. We are happy to complete an insurance claim, but in the event that your insurance does not cover midwives etc, we offer this discount. Please review this page for more information about insurance, our sliding scale options for medicaid/financial hardship, and discount offerings.

Sliding Scale

This system allows you to pick your payment based on your personal financial experience. If you are not sure which bracket you fall into, read the description of life experiences and choose the one that best fits today.

Once you have settled on a reasonable fee, you will then choose your payment terms such as payment plan or full payment and how to pay:

  • Online Payment: All major credit /debit cards, Venmo

  • In Person Payment: credits/debit cards, HSA/FSA, Cash

  • Christian healthshare/costshare plan agreement

Standard Fee $5,500

Consider placing yourself in this part of the sliding scale if you and your family:

  • Do not struggle to meet the basic needs of food, housing, transportation, childcare, and healthcare, and paying for midwifery care will not change this

  • May have financial debts, but they do not prevent you from meeting the basic needs above

  • Will have to cut back or budget more tightly on non-essentials and extras to pay for midwifery care, such as eating out, buying a morning coffee/tea, new clothes, or vacation

  • Have some amount of savings for extras and emergencies

  • Have relatives, friends, or extended community with financial resources who could support your midwifery care with gifts, donations, or loans

  • Are able to have some choice in where you live (e.g. location, quality, price, or space) because of your available financial resources

  • Own your home or can pay for medium or higher quality rental housing

  • Can afford to take planned vacations, trips, and time off from work

Hardship Fee (20% off Standard Fee) $4,400

Consider placing yourself in this part of the sliding scale if you and your family:

  • Have Medicaid, Foodstamps, or WIC

  • Regularly struggle to meet basic needs - food, housing, transportation, childcare, and healthcare

  • Will be less able to meet any of the basic needs above because of paying for midwifery care

  • Rely on payday loans and/or credit card debt to meet basic needs

  • Live paycheck to paycheck with no savings for non-essentials, extras or emergencies

  • Live in the lowest-rent options, stay with relatives/friends, and/or have unstable or inconsistent housing

  • Have limited, low-wage, and/or unstable income, or are unemployed

  • Don’t have relatives, friends, or extended community with financial resources who could support your midwifery care with gifts, donations, or loans

  • All of the above is by necessity not by choice. For example if you have access to family money and resources in times of need, work part-time by choice, and/or have a relatively high degree of earning power due to level of education (or gender and racial privilege, class background, etc.) but choose not to access that, please look at and consider the non-discounted fees below.

DONATIONS TO SUPPORT SLIDING SCALE - PAYMENT ABOVE LISTED FEES

If you are in a position to make a donation and pay above the listed fees, this is a vital support to for more people have access to the type of health care they want and need. Families who donate above the listed fee are a key part of what allows me to continue to offer sliding scale and bartering options to as many families as possible. Any amount you pay above the listed fees will go directly to supporting the care of families receiving discounted fees.

Above Fee

  • Will not need to cut back on extras or make any financial sacrifices to pay for midwifery care, such as eating out, buying a morning coffee/tea, new clothes, or vacation

  • Own more than one home

  • Can choose to do part-time paid work sometimes or all the time due to savings, investments, family money, or other means

  • Sometimes or regularly do not need to work for money due to savings, investments, family money, or other means

  • Can afford to take vacations, trips, and time off from work multiple times a year without needing to budget or save up for it

  • Have income from investments, trusts, or family money

(20% above Full Standard Fee) $6,600

  • Allows me to offer other families the discounted care options above and services such as free pregnancy testing for those who need it.

  • Pay student midwives and purchase their supplies, testing, and further midwifery by training more midwives

Payment Plans

We absolutely accept payment plans. You have the option to pay in full (preferred) or make payments over the course of care (from the date of hire to 6 weeks postpartum from your due date)

Insurance Coverage

Yes! We are happy to work with your insurance company if they work with us. Devotion Midwifery is out of network provider for any health insurance plans, including Medicaid. Currently, the price of the malpractice insurance required of all Medicaid providers and in-network insurance providers is cost-prohibitive for this very small independent midwifery practice.

However, we are happy to complete a verification of benefits to assess what coverage/reimbursement your insurance may offer. We will complete this VOB at no cost to you ($35 value). Following your birth, we will submit any applicable claims for reimbursement.

If your insurance covers standard pregnancy, postpartum, or wellness labwork and ultrasounds, both labwork and referral ultrasounds with Devotion Midwifery are covered by your insurance.

We can take payment with HSA/FSA through our Square billing system.

Healthshare insurance plans such as Liberty Healthshare, Samaritan and Christian Healthshare usually pay 100% of the Global Maternity Fee.

Costshare plans require an invoice from the midwife and do not remit payment until close to birth. Self pay will be require until they take over or reimburse.

Barter & Trade

I am open to barter and trade for up to half of the full standard fee for care.

The type and quantity of item and/or service you would like to offer in trade for midwifery care needs to be proposed and agreed on by all of us at the start of care, along with the timeline for when the barter payment will be completed. Some suggestions include:

  • Herbalism, skincare, bodywork, chiropractic, hair care

  • Tree work or Yard Maintenance

  • Trade work such as plumbing, electrical, roofing, flooring- I need hardwood flooring help!

Discounts

ONE $500 discount from full standard fee ($5,500) for the following:

  • Birthworkers

  • If you have a professional photographer that will allow me to use photos for marketing and education

  • Repeat Clients

  • Hiring a Doula

  • Paying in full at the initial visit

Additional financial requirements not included in Devotion Midwifery fee:

  • Birth Kit (must be ordered and delivered by 36 weeks): Order Here

  • Placenta Encapsulation: $250 processed and returned by 1 week postpartum visit

  • Not currently included but hoping to incorporate soon: Doula, International board certified lactation visits, perinatal mental health counselor, chiropractic, pediatrician

  • All diagnostic ultrasounds, physician referral or consultation, other care providers, and unique lab work such a genetic testing and SneakPeek