California is among the most expensive states to deliver a child, according to a report from Fair Health.
As of 2022, the median cost of having a cesarean section outside of your insurance network in California was nearly $50,000.
For in-network providers, the cost of a C-section in the Golden State was about $20,000.
For those who deliver naturally, in-network child delivery services cost around $16,500 in California and out-of-network deliveries had a median cost of nearly $36,000.
For C-sections, the national median costs for in-network services are approximately $15,500 and out-of-network services are estimated to cost around $36,000.
Nationwide, the median cost of in-network natural births is around $13,000 and out-of-network expenses cost around $27,000.
Researchers at Fair Health, an independent nonprofit that “collects data for and manages the nation’s largest database of privately billed health insurance claims,” analyzed childbirth-related insurance claims to create the report.
California has consistently ranked within the top five most expensive places to give birth, but it’s not the most expensive location, according to the report.
Researchers found that Alaska had the highest median charge for natural deliveries: $21,525.77. Behind Alaska were New York, New Jersey, Connecticut and Massachusetts, which also had expensive median costs for natural childbirth services.
Alaska also had the highest median cost for in-network C-sections, which was about $26,000, followed by New Jersey, New York, Connecticut and California.
Researchers found that Alabama had the lowest median charge for natural and C-section deliveries.