California woman gets billed $50k for having a baby: ‘That’s a downpayment on a house’

The woman’s video sparked conversations about universal health care

Shannon Mayor, a California woman who went viral on TikTok after she shared a video highlighting a $50,000 hospital bill she received after giving birth. (screengrab)

A woman went viral after sharing that her hospital billed her more than $50,000 for the birth of her baby,

Shannon Mayor, who lives in California, became pregnant in the fall of 2020, according to Insider. She told the outlet that after discovering she was pregnant, she began searching for the "best insurance" she could find.

Ms Mayor explained how the US market-based healthcare system was difficult to navigate. She recalled becoming stressed by having to switch to her husband's insurance shortly before her baby was born.

"Insurance is complicated. It's not easy in this country to figure out, and you can be screwed if you don't, you know, really think ahead," she said.

Ms Mayor delivered her baby at a nearby hospital, where she said she received excellent care from her doctors. Then she discovered the true cost of that care.

Last week, Ms Mayor received a bill for her hospital stay. Her insurance plan paid $50,816.02 for her delivery. Thanks to her insurance, she only owed $250.

The staggering cost of her delivery inspired her to post a video to TikTok, which earned more than 8 million views.

She said most people don't have a spare $50,000 to have a baby, noting it was "like a down payment on a house in some place."

"I was grateful that I have insurance. A lot of people aren't that fortunate in this country to have really good insurance like I had, and without it, it would have cost a lot more likely to have my baby," she said. "Not a lot of people have access to that kind of insurance, so I felt a lot of gratitude in that moment."

Some commenters pointed out the disparity between the expensive, privatised US healthcare markets and the much less expensive, socialised healthcare services throughout Europe and in Canada.

A woman from the US living in Germany gave birth there and paid just over $50 USD for the entire experience.

Ms Mayor said she was glad her video stirred "conversation about universal healthcare," describing the discussions as "eye-opening."