Hospital Birth Bill Checklist

15 charges commonly wrong on hospital birth bills. Pull up your itemized statement and check each one.

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How to use it: Get your itemized bill (you're legally entitled to one) and check each line below against it. Anything that looks off is worth disputing.

Room & Stay Charges

1
Room & board — confirm the number of days billed
Match it to your actual admit and discharge dates; the day you leave usually isn't billed as a full room day.
2
Nursery boarding fee when your baby roomed-in
A nursery room charge may not apply if baby stayed with you — but routine newborn exams and screenings are billed separately and are legitimate, so check what the charge covers.
3
Admission & discharge dates match your actual stay
A wrong date can add a full day of room, nursing, and monitoring charges.

Labor & Delivery Charges

4
Anesthesia/epidural billed in time units
It's billed in 15-minute increments, so extra time adds up — and the anesthesiologist bills separately from the hospital, so expect a second bill.
5
C-section/OR time and assistant-surgeon charges
Compare OR time to your surgical report, and check for an assistant-surgeon fee — that's only valid if an assistant was actually present and documented.
6
Labor & delivery room fee billed only once
Make sure it isn't duplicated as a separate "delivery room" or "birthing suite" charge for the same space.

Medications & Supplies

7
Duplicate medication charges on the same date
The single most common bill error — watch Pitocin, IV fluids, pain meds, and antibiotics.
8
Medication quantity matches what you received
For example, one IV bag billed as two, or a single dose billed as a daily supply.
9
Routine supplies billed on top of the room rate
Gloves, gowns, gauze, and basic kits are generally included in the facility fee; itemizing them separately can be a double-charge.

Lab, Imaging & Procedures

10
The same lab test or panel billed twice
Check for an identical test listed more than once, sometimes under different codes.
11
Delivery charges split into separate codes ("unbundling")
Placenta delivery and minor (1st/2nd-degree) tear repair are included in the standard delivery code. More severe (3rd/4th-degree) repairs can be billed separately and legitimately.
12
Procedure codes match what actually happened
"Upcoding" bills a more complex version than performed — a routine delivery shouldn't be coded as complicated. Compare the codes to your discharge summary.

Insurance & Billing Codes

13
Your bill matches your insurer's EOB
If you're in-network, the contracted write-off isn't yours to pay; being billed it instead of just your deductible or coinsurance is improper balance billing.
14
Charges for anything you don't remember receiving
Phantom specialist consults, therapy, or social-worker visits happen — ask for documentation it occurred.
15
Your name, DOB, and insurance details are correct
A simple data-entry error can get a claim denied and land on your bill as an uncovered balance.

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