A U.S. TikToker Shared The Cost Of Having Triplets In The Hospital & Canadians Are Shocked
*screams in Canadian healthcare*
TikToker Kyrsten Brown.
If there's one thing Canucks can be grateful for, it's free health care in Canada, as a video posted to TikTok has shown.
An American TikToker recently took to the app to share the cost of delivering triplets in the hospital, and the amount has Canadians in the comments praising Canada.
Kyrsten Brown, on TikTok @the_brown_triplets, shared her experience having three babies at a U.S. hospital, including the astronomical cost.
As she shares in the clip, her triplets were born prematurely, and each had to stay in the NICU for more than a month. However, it's worth noting that the babies appear to be in good health now, as seen on her page.
"If you want to know how much it costs to have triplets in the United States without insurance, listen up," she begins the clip.
She goes on to explain that James, one of her three children, spent 31 days in the NICU, requiring oxygen and photo-light therapy.
"They charged us $447,037.53," she said, showing a receipt for the amount in a photo.
"Polly was in the NICU for 32 days," she continues, talking about her other child. She explains that like her sister, Polly needed oxygen and "a little bit of caffeine," while in the intensive care unit.
"They charged us $542,785.39," Brown said.
The other triplet, Baskyn, "did the same thing as James, except he was in the NICU for 35 days," she said. "They charged us $481,261.12."
@the_brown_triplets What we were charged for the triplets’ NICU stays 💸 #greenscreenvideo #healthcare #nicubaby #nicumama #preemie #triplets #tripletsoftiktok #tripletmom #tripletpregnancy
Without insurance, the total for the stay comes to a whopping $1.4 million. However, the staggering amount is not even the full cost of having the babies in the hospital, Brown continues.
"This doesn't even begin to cover my 11-day hospital stay before the babies were born," Brown says before ending the video.
The clip currently has 5.5 million views and over 855,000 likes. The thousands of comments on the video are full of people expressing their shock at the pricey costs associated with delivering a baby in the U.S.
"*screams in Canadian healthcare*" one person wrote.
"As a Canadian, I cannot even imagine," said another person.
"I'm in Canada and this is absolutely mind-blowing," wrote another commenter.
Many Canadian commenters expressed feeling grateful that they live in Canada and commented on the disparity between the cost of delivering a child in a hospital in the country and in the U.S.
"I'm so glad I live in Canada," said one commenter. "I only had to pay for parking."
"My son was born at 26 weeks, stayed in the NICU for 3 months. It was free. Welcome to Canada," said another.
"So thankful I live in Canada. I've never seen a hospital bill," said another person.
As some pointed out, the same kind of stay in Canada would cost a lot less.
For those who don't know, Canada has a universal health care system that's funded through taxes.
Each province and territory has a different health plan that covers different services.
For example, the Ontario Health Insurance Plan (OHIP) covers hospital visits and stays, in addition to other things.
Specifically, this includes things like doctor and nurse services, medications and accommodations and meals.
In general, though, Canadians don’t have to pay for most health care services, which may be why Canada's health care has been called one of the best in the world.
So if you're ever feeling less than grateful to live in the True North, this video may be a good reminder of why you should be.