Payment & Insurance - Morning Star Birth Center - Menomonie, Wisconsin Holistic Maternity Care

Childbirth - Payment & Insurance - Morning Star

Our primary goal is to offer a comprehensive, affordable alternative to institutional maternity and well-woman gynecologic care. On average nationwide, Birth Center care costs 30% less than clinic/hospital care. More time is spent face-to-face with the client during well-woman exams and throughout pregnancy, birth and the post-partum period. Morning Star works with insured and uninsured women.

Babies CAN Be Affordable!

We understand that many uninsured women and families are rightfully concerned about the cost of having a baby! Morning Star Birth Center helps uninsured families by offering Self Pay and Financial Hardship discounts.

We also offer payment plans and guidance on other creative ways to help you finance your care. We believe that having a baby shouldn’t break the bank!

Insurance

After your complimentary consultation, Morning Star will call your insurance company as a courtesy for a verification of your benefits, and we will ask you to do the same. Then we will compare notes and help you to understand your benefits and what your anticipated out of pocket responsibility may likely be. Of course the total cost will depend on the circumstances of your care, but we will do our best to help you anticipate what it may be based on an average total.

Morning Star Birth Center and our providers are considered “Out-Of-Network” by most insurance companies (except for those listed below - see "Recent Insurance Updates"). We are working hard to be included as an “In-Network” facility and provider, so watch for updates in our e-newsletters and on Facebook, as well as here on our company website (see "Recent Insurance Updates" below). It may ALSO be possible for you to request an "In-Network exception" from your insurance company. We can give you guidance on how to do that. Remember that women deserve to birth in the location of their choice where they feel safe and supported, and to use the benefits their insurance company is paid to provide. Let us know what we can do to help!

If you have health insurance through your employer, or you purchase it yourself, your services are still covered at the out-of-network rate. In the meantime, we recommend that you ask your Human Resource manager to request an In-Network exception for you to receive maternity and newborn care at Morning Star, as we continue to work toward contracting with all major insurance companies!

Morning Star will submit and follow up on the processing of your claims, also as a courtesy. We ask our clients to take an active role in the processing of their claims as well! Charges are submitted to your insurance company at our Standard Rates*. We will work hard to help you make the most of your benefits. Our medical billers are specialists in maternity care billing and offer guidance and clarification on all of those confusing “EOB’s”, or Explanation of Benefit forms.

Recent insurance updates

July 2012

Morning Star in St. Louis Park, MN is thrilled to announce that it is now IN-NETWORK for ALL MAJOR COMMERCIAL AND GOVERNMENT PLANS THROUGH MEDICA!

So, this means if you have Medica and receive services at our St. Louis Park location, your IN-NETWORK benefits apply to your care at Morning Star.

Morning Star in St. Louis Park, MN is also contracted with most major insurance carriers to accept state-funded (government) health insurance for maternity services, so if you have a state Medicaid plan that is administered through Blue Cross Blue Shield, Medica or U-Care, your maternity care at Morning Star will be covered. We hope to negotiate commercial contracts with other major carriers in the near future.

Charges

We bill for the care provided to Mother and Baby separately at our Standard Rates. The breakdown of average charges is as follows:

Mother’s Care (prenatal, labor/birth, postpartum and lactation):

Professional charges $5,500

Facility charges $3,850

Labs: Lab costs vary depending on the labs you need and choose. You may inquire about the cost of specific labs at the front desk.

Baby’s Care (immediate newborn and visits through six weeks):

Professional charges: $1,250

Facility charges: $1,725

Labs: Lab costs vary depending on the labs you need and choose. You may inquire about the cost of specific labs at the front desk.

(*rates are subject to change without notice)

In the end, it’s up to the family to decide how to prioritize the way their money is spent. We don’t believe insurance companies should dictate how and where women give birth and are committed to helping families get the care that’s right for them. The birth of a baby is only experienced a few times in a woman’s lifetime. It’s worth finding out how to make it as good and affordable as it can be!