Watch: In Insurers’ Eyes, Not All Midwives Are Equal

Vanessa Garcia Clark wanted a more personal, nontraditional birth when she was pregnant with her son. She hired a midwife and gave birth at her home in California. But when she asked her insurer to reimburse her for the midwifery bill totaling more than $9,500, her claim was denied.

In the first installment of InvestigateTV and KHN’s “Costly Care” series, Caresse Jackman, InvestigateTV’s national consumer investigative reporter, explores the different types of midwives — and how not all of them may be covered by insurance.

Jackman’s story features an interview with Dr. Elisabeth Rosenthal, KHN’s editor-in-chief, who advises mothers-to-be to negotiate before paying a big bill.

This story was produced by KHN (Kaiser Health News), a national newsroom that produces in-depth journalism about health issues. Together with Policy Analysis and Polling, KHN is one of the three major operating programs at KFF (Kaiser Family Foundation). KFF is an endowed nonprofit organization providing information on health issues to the nation.

KFF Health News is a national newsroom that produces in-depth journalism about health issues and is one of the core operating programs at KFF—an independent source of health policy research, polling, and journalism. Learn more about KFF.

<h1>Watch: In Insurers’ Eyes, Not All Midwives Are Equal</h1>
<div>		<time class="posted-on" datetime="2023-02-15T02:00:00-08:00">
			February 15, 2023		</time>
		</div>
<p>Vanessa Garcia Clark wanted a more personal, nontraditional birth when she was pregnant with her son. She hired a midwife and gave birth at her home in California. But when she asked her insurer to reimburse her for the midwifery bill totaling more than $9,500, her claim was denied.</p><p>In <a href="https://www.investigatetv.com/2023/02/14/costly-care-lack-insurance-options-midwifery-care-leaves-new-mothers-confused/">the first installment</a> of InvestigateTV and KHN’s “Costly Care” series, Caresse Jackman, InvestigateTV’s national consumer investigative reporter, explores the different types of midwives — and how not all of them may be covered by insurance.</p><p>Jackman’s story features an interview with Dr. Elisabeth Rosenthal, KHN’s editor-in-chief, who advises mothers-to-be to negotiate before paying a big bill.</p><p><em><em>This story was produced by <a href="https://khn.org/about-us">KHN</a> (Kaiser Health News), a national newsroom that produces in-depth journalism about health issues. Together with Policy Analysis and Polling, KHN is one of the three major operating programs at <a href="https://www.kff.org/about-us/">KFF</a> (Kaiser Family Foundation). KFF is an endowed nonprofit organization providing information on health issues to the nation.</em></em></p><ul><li><a href="https://californiahealthline.org/news/article/watch-in-insurers-eyes-not-all-midwives-are-equal/?share=facebook">				Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)				Facebook			</a></li><li><a href="https://californiahealthline.org/news/article/watch-in-insurers-eyes-not-all-midwives-are-equal/?share=linkedin">				Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)				LinkedIn			</a></li><li><a href="https://californiahealthline.org/news/article/watch-in-insurers-eyes-not-all-midwives-are-equal/?share=x">				Click to share on X (Opens in new window)				X			</a></li><li><a href="mailto:?subject=%5BShared%20Post%5D%20Watch%3A%20In%20Insurers%E2%80%99%20Eyes%2C%20Not%20All%20Midwives%20Are%20Equal&body=https%3A%2F%2Fcaliforniahealthline.org%2FNDQxMzAw&share=email">				Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window)				Email			</a></li><li><a href="https://californiahealthline.org/news/article/watch-in-insurers-eyes-not-all-midwives-are-equal/#print?share=print">				Click to print (Opens in new window)				Print			</a></li><li>				<a href="https://californiahealthline.org/news/article/watch-in-insurers-eyes-not-all-midwives-are-equal/view/republish/">					Republish This Story				</a>			</li></ul><em><a href="https://kffhealthnews.org/about-us">KFF Health News</a> is a national newsroom that produces in-depth journalism about health issues and is one of the core operating programs at KFF—an independent source of health policy research, polling, and journalism. Learn more about <a href="https://www.kff.org/about-us">KFF</a>.</em><p><a href="https://californiahealthline.org/morning-briefing/">Subscribe</a> to KFF Health News' free Morning Briefing.</p>

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