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Being a new parent is exciting — learning everything for the first time, developing a new love, and creating a new schedule. What’s not so exciting is the hospital bills you rack up in the process.

Averaging somewhere around $5,000 to $11,000 per child with health insurancewithout coverage, having a baby is straight up unaffordable. Just ask new mom Kyrsten Brown. She recently had triplets without insurance, and her bill came out to nearly $1.5 million.

A mom of triplets took to social media to break down the astronomical bill she received after giving birth.

Brown started her video simply stating, “If you want to know how much it costs to have triplets in the United States without insurance, listen up.” As can happen with multiples, the babies required extra care in the NICU, and that took an expensive bill into the realm of insanity.

She broke down her bill based on the needs of the babies. “James was in the NICU for 31 days… he was there to feed and grow,” she said about her first baby, “they charged us $447,037.” She continued, “Polly was in the NICU for 39 days. She needed a little bit more oxygen and a little caffeine, and they charged us $547,785.” Not to be outdone by his siblings, “Baskyn was in the NICU for 35 days, he just needed a little bit of extra time,” she said, “and they charged us $481,261.”

The whopping total … $1,476,083. Shocked by a bill that could purchase an incredible mansion or multiple college educations, the commenters immediately shared their distaste for the broken healthcare system in the United States. Sadly, the criticisms were pretty much on point.

As of a 2024 survey41% of Americans have some kind of medical debt. This is despite the fact that 90% of the population has some kind of health- coverage. Is it any wonder why Luigi Mangione has become something of a hero in contrast to the macabre nature of his crime?

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The mom said the hospital bill only covers her babies, leaving another bill for her 11-day stay pre-birth.

If you thought the $1.4 million bill was bad, Brown continued, “This doesn’t even begin to cover my 11-day hospital stay before the babies were born.” She did not detail what those costs were, but once you’re over the million mark, does it even matter?

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One commenter noted, “They actually expect humans to just have over 1 million dollars lying around?” In solidarity, another mom shared, “Sounds about right. Our insurance was billed $1.6M for my twins being in the NICU for 60 days.” One person simply asked, “How is that even possible to pay?”

Advice obviously swirled about the best course of action. Everything from filing for bankruptcy and simply ignoring the bills to asking for an itemized bill from the hospital in the hopes it would bring the total cost down significantly. Experts are onboard with calling billing and asking for a breakdown of the costs, and the possibility of renegotiatingbut when a bill is that high, the renegotiated costs will likely still be life-altering to a sudden family of five.

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Even with insurance, healthcare is becoming a luxury that many people simply can’t afford.

The Commonwealth Fund Health Care Affordability Survey found that over half of working Americans are struggling to afford health care, and four in 10 who have insurance through their employer aren’t able to pay either.

But what happens if you need treatment? According to the survey, 38% of insured Americans are putting off what might be life-saving care because they simply can’t afford the out-of-pocket costs, thanks to rising premiums, deductibles, and copayments.

That doesn’t mean you should forego insurance if you are lucky enough to have it. “It’s much better to have insurance. People who are uninsured report higher rates of problems with not getting care because of the cost,” health care scholar and lead survey author Sara Collins told CBS. “But they also indicate insurance coverage frequently fails to provide affordable access to care for large segments of the population.”

Collins did stress that there is a need for reform and that the system is fundamentally broken. She stressed that no one should be forced into bankruptcy in an effort to stay healthy. And let’s face it, if the current administration is worried about low birth ratesmaking healthcare more affordable is a great first step in giving people the peace of mind that they might be able to afford giving birth and then providing continued health care for their children as they grow up.

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Zayda Slabbekoorn is a staff writer with a bachelor’s degree in social relations & policy and gender studies who focuses on psychology, relationships, self-help, and human interest stories.