Payment Plans
It is incredibly important to us that midwifery care is accessible to those who want it, which is challenging in our patchwork system of health insurance, insufficient coverage for out-of-hospital midwives, and poor insurance reimbursement for care providers. Because we deeply value accessible midwifery care in our community, we do offer a sliding fee scale and payment plans.
We also deeply value and respect the level of time, energy, care, love, support, and commitment that we put into our work as midwives. For that reason, we ask that you thoughtfully and honestly consider where you and your family are on the sliding scale below. This is a starting point for our conversation about fees so we can come to an arrangement that will work for all of us.
Sliding Scale
40% DISCOUNT
Consider placing yourself in this part of the sliding scale if you and your family:
Regularly struggle to meet basic needs - food, housing, transportation, childcare, and healthcare
Will be less able to meet any of the basic needs above because of paying for midwifery care
Rely on payday loans and/or credit card debt to meet basic needs
Live paycheck to paycheck with no savings for non-essentials, extras or emergencies
Live in the lowest-rent options, stay with relatives/friends, and/or have unstable or inconsistent housing
Have limited, low-wage, and/or unstable income, or are unemployed
Don’t have relatives, friends, or extended community with financial resources who could support your midwifery care with gifts, donations, or loans
All of the above is by necessity not by choice. For example if you have access to family money and resources in times of need, work part-time by choice, and/or have a relatively high degree of earning power due to level of education (or gender and racial privilege, class background, etc.) but choose not to access that, please look at and consider the non-discounted fees below.
20% DISCOUNT
Consider placing yourself in this part of the sliding scale if you and your family:
Occasionally struggle to meet the basic needs above, but not regularly
Will have to stretch your basic needs budget to pay for midwifery care, but will not have to skip or choose between meeting any basic needs as a result
Have limited financial resources for any extras or emergencies beyond basic needs
Rarely or never buy new items because they are not affordable
Have relatives, friends, or extended community with limited financial resources who could only minimally support your midwifery care with gifts, donations, or loans, or could not offer any financial support
All of the above is by necessity not by choice. For example if you have access to family money and resources in times of need, work part time by choice, and/or have a relatively high degree of earning power due to level of education (or gender and racial privilege, class background, etc.) but choose not to access that, please look at and consider the non-discounted fees below.
LISTED FEE
The fees as listed cover the actual cost of care. Consider placing yourself in this part of the sliding scale if you and your family:
Do not struggle to meet the basic needs of food, housing, transportation, childcare, and healthcare, and paying for midwifery care will not change this
May have financial debts, but they do not prevent you from meeting the basic needs above
Will have to cut back or budget more tightly on non-essentials and extras to pay for midwifery care, such as eating out, buying a morning coffee/tea, new clothes, or vacation
Have some amount of savings for extras and emergencies
Have relatives, friends, or extended community with financial resources who could support your midwifery care with gifts, donations, or loans
Are able to have some choice in where you live (e.g. location, quality, price, or space) because of your available financial resources
Own your home or can pay for medium or higher quality rental housing
Can afford to take planned vacations, trips, and time off from work
DONATIONS TO SUPPORT SLIDING SCALE - PAYMENT ABOVE LISTED FEES
If you are in a position to make a donation and pay above the listed fees, this is a vital support for more people have access to the type of health care they want and need. Families who donate above the listed fee are a key part of what allows us to continue to offer sliding scale and bartering options to as many families as possible. Any amount you pay above the listed fees will go directly to supporting the care of families receiving discounted fees.
20% above listed fees allows us to offer families the discounted care options above and services such as free pregnancy testing for those who need it.
40% above listed fees allows us to offer families the discounted care options above and services such as free pregnancy testing for those who need it, and the potential to expand the number of families we can offer these services to.