Obstetrical emergency departments are a new aspect of some hospitals that can inflate medical bills for even the easiest, healthiest births. Just ask baby Gus' parents about their $2,755 ER charge.
An insurance regulation known as "the birthday rule" is tripping up couples who are putting their newborn children on the wrong policy and risk losing thousands of dollars.
Under a rule that kicked in Jan. 1, hospitals must now make public the prices they negotiate with health insurers. But health policy experts have divergent views on what that will mean for patients.
