The Financial Impact of Miscarriage Treatment and the D&C Procedure
Janie Faville, 27, wants to remind people that miscarriages—as devastating as they can be—often come with a price tag. The Kansas City, Missouri, social worker suffered a miscarriage in January after nine weeks of pregnancy. And this week, she shared on Facebook the total cost for a miscarriage procedure she received afterward.
Understanding the Medical Costs of a D&C
To treat her miscarriage, Faville had a dilation and curettage procedure (D&C). The surgical procedure removed tissue from her uterus, treating the miscarriage immediately. She had it done the day after she learned she miscarried. At the time, Faville didn't fully consider the financial repercussions of the procedure. Still, when she received her explanation of benefits (EOB) this month, her total for her miscarriage treatment came to $5,584, and she has to pay $1,369.57 out of pocket.
She tells SELF she has what she considers "good insurance"—she's insured through her employer, and she has a $1,000 deductible. The following table summarizes the financial details of her treatment:
| Description of Cost | Amount |
|---|---|
| Total Miscarriage Treatment Bill | $5,584.00 |
| Out-of-Pocket Responsibility | $1,369.57 |
| Insurance Deductible | $1,000.00 |
| Typical High-End Total for D&C | Up to $15,000.00 |
Why Surgical Procedures Are Expensive
"When you have a D&C, it’s like any other surgical procedure," Lauren Streicher, M.D., an associate professor of clinical obstetrics and gynecology at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, tells SELF. The costs add up very fast because patients must pay for various components of the care:
- Facility fee for where you have the procedure.
- Doctor's fee to perform the procedure.
- Anesthesiologist to give you anesthesia.
- Pathology to look at the tissue.
Dr. Streicher notes, however, that the price of a miscarriage can vary from hospital to hospital and depending on a woman's medical situation, making it hard to estimate an average cost. In her eyes, the total cost of Fayville's D&C—$5,584—seems typical. It's not unusual for a "simple D&C" for a miscarriage to have a total price tag of $15,000.
The Prevalence of Miscarriage and Insurance Importance
Faville's situation is far from uncommon. According to the American Pregnancy Association, 10 to 25 percent of all clinically recognized pregnancies will end in miscarriage, with most occurring during the first 13 weeks of pregnancy. Not all miscarriages require surgical treatment, like the D&C Fayville received. In some cases, women can pass the fetal tissue naturally. But even then, a follow-up surgical treatment might be necessary if expulsion doesn't happen properly. And any surgical treatment costs money.
The Social and Financial Burden
The fact that women may have to "pay" for miscarriages wasn't something that crossed Faville's mind before she found herself in that situation. "It wasn’t something that necessarily blindsided me, but it was another thing to have to deal with as you’re moving forward in your process of grief," she tells SELF. She shared her story because she "kept thinking about people who are so financially strained that [the cost of a miscarriage] could make them lose their house or their apartment or their car or transportation."
"Women have issues that men do not have that are expensive," Dr. Streicher says. "Whether it’s an abnormal Pap test that requires colposcopy and biopsy or whether it’s a miscarriage from a desired pregnancy, this stuff is all expensive. That’s the bottom line." Faville wanted to get people thinking about yet another expensive medical cost women endure, and yet another reason why insurance is so important.