Healthcare eats up nearly 20% of income for new parents, study finds

Low-income parents are especially vulnerable to pregnancy and delivery costs and spend up to 19 percent of household income on healthcare expenses, or 30 percent when health insurance premiums are included, according to a March 10 study led by New York City-based Mount Sinai.

The study surveyed 4,000 parents of newborns and 8,000 women of reproductive age but not pregnant between 2008 and 2016.

Parents have a higher risk of medical spending than similarly situated people who are not pregnant, the study found. They also have higher rates of unemployment and gaining and losing Medicaid in the delivery year.

Public health insurance, such as Medicaid, was shown to have lower risks of burdensome health costs than private insurance, according to the study.

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