Miscarriage is devastating enough on its own, but it also can come with a financial burden that goes undiscussed. 27-year-old Janie Faville, who recently went through a miscarriage, posted a photo to her Facebook and the Pantsuit Nation group on Monday reminding us that miscarriage can come with an unfair price tag.
"Because people don't talk about it, I will," she captioned a photo of the total cost of her miscarriage procedure. "This is how much a miscarriage costs with good insurance. THIS is why we need Planned Parenthood."
Faville, a Kansas City social worker, told SELF that when she found out that she miscarried after nine weeks of pregnancy, she underwent a dilation and curettage procedure. The surgical procedure, in which the cervix is opened and tissue is removed from the uterus, is a common practice after miscarriage.
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At the time, Faville told SELF, she wasn't thinking about the financial cost. Aside from the undoubted emotional burden, she had good health insurance from her employer. However, as you can see from the photo, the cost came out to a total of $5,584, and she had to pay $1,369.57 out of pocket. The fact that women have to pay for miscarriages both emotionally and financially wasn't something that had crossed her mind — nor should it have to.
"It wasn’t something that necessarily blindsided me, but it was another thing to have to deal with as you’re moving forward in your process of grief," she told SELF. Though she was able to work out a payment plan, the situation made her think of those who might be less fortunate.
"I kept thinking about people who are so financially strained that [the cost of a miscarriage] could make them lose their house or their apartment or their car or transportation," she said. "Or they would have to choose between that and food."
Her post is a reminder of just another medical cost women have to endure, and is especially timely with the threat of the ACA being repealed. If repealed, millions of people would be left without insurance, making it even more difficult to pay for procedures like the one Faville went through.
"I hope women continue to be comfortable enough to share those stories not only on Pantsuit Nation, but also to their representatives," Faville told SELF. "If we do repeal and replace the ACA, we need to keep the pieces of the ACA that make delivering a child—either a miscarriage or a live birth—affordable and realistic for women."