Here's how much it costs to give birth in Florida

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — New parents have enough to worry about without being slapped with massive hospital bills. But a recent study suggests Florida families may need to seriously budget before giving birth.

FAIR Health, a New York-based health care non-profit, published a heat map showing how much the cost of giving birth varies by state across the U.S.

Using data from 41 billion private health care claim records collected in September 2022, the company broke down the median amounts both insured and uninsured patients are charged for vaginal deliveries and C-sections.

FAIR Health added costs for the delivery itself — which includes pharmacy, nursery, labor and delivery room, medical supplies and room and board for the mother — to the cost of anesthesia, fetal nonstress tests, ultrasounds, laboratory work and a breast pump.

And according to the data, Florida is among the Top 5 costliest states to give birth, particularly for uninsured patients or patients who receive out-of-network services.

The median cost of a vaginal birth in Florida is $31,983.52 ($12,603.64 for those with insurance.) For a C-section, that number jumps to $41,299.31 ($15,445.17 for insured patients.)

For comparison, the least expensive states to give birth without insurance are Alabama at $17,929.18 for a vaginal delivery and Louisiana at $22,089.13 for a C-section. Those numbers drop to $7,840.62 and $8,995.82, respectively, for patients with insurance. 

Other states with the highest costs of giving birth without insurance are New York, New Jersey, Alaska and California. 

Most expensive states to have a vaginal birth, based on FAIR Health data:

1. New York: $37,935.35 ($19,990.20 with insurance)
2. New Jersey: $37,464.70 ($18,688.12 with insurance)
3. Alaska: $36,447.44 ($36,447.44 with insurance)
4. California: $35,710.45 ($16,577.28 with insurance)
5. Florida: $31,983.52 ($12,603.64 with insurance)

Most expensive states to have a C-section, based on FAIR Health data:

1. New Jersey: $51,083.07 ($25,253.39 with insurance)
2. California: $49,078.16 ($20,616.80 with insurance)
3. Alaska: $46,369.99 ($25,518.63 with insurance)
4. New York: $45,099.48 ($22,353.92 with insurance)
5. Florida: $41,299.31 ($15,445.17 with insurance)

You can check out the cost of giving birth tracker and learn more about health care resources on FAIR Health's website.