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The Average Cost of a Stay in the NICU

When babies are born prematurely, have difficult births or have serious health issues, they sometimes are admitted to the neonatal intensive care unit, or NICU. This special hospital department features high-security measures and unique equipment and tools designed for infants. While most parents have enough to worry about if their babies are sick, they can be inundated by expensive bills from the experience.

  1. Average Daily Cost

    • The overall cost for a baby's stay in the NICU is typically determined by his length of stay there. Each baby spends different amounts of time in the NICU, depending on the reasons for being there in the first place. For example, premature babies born before week 37 often spend a month or more in the NICU, simply because vital organs, such as lungs, are not fully developed and they need to be on ventilators full-time. According to a 2010 article in "Managed Care Magazine," the average cost for infants in NICU is around $3,000 per day. This average does not include surgeries or helicopter transports.

    Average Length of Stay

    • Around 30 to 35 percent of NICU babies are in these special units for fewer than four days. Some of the most common reasons for these stays are difficult labors that caused some type of serious temporary health concern, such as swallowing the meconium during birth. These stays typically cost between $12,000 and $20,000 depending on the severity of the health issue and number of days in the NICU. It's the babies that are born very prematurely that usually rack up the most expensive bills. According to "Managed Care," 65 to 70 percent of NICU infants stay in the special unit for an average of 20 days. These stays cost between $40,000 and $80,000 with a commercial health insurance plan. According to a 2008 article in "Bloomberg Businessweek," a premature infant born in week 28 had a NICU stay for two months that cost $400,000, not including surgeries.

    Other Cost Factors

    • The level of needed care contributes to the high cost of NICU stays. For example, most NICU babies need the assistance of many life-saving tools and equipment. Incubators that keep babies warm and ventilators are very common in the NICU. Babies are generally hooked up to around-the-clock monitors that measure blood pressure, heartbeat rates and blood-oxygen rates. They also must have IVs that give them necessary medications, as well as nutritional needs, as most cannot breastfeed or take a bottle normally.

    Health Insurance Coverage

    • The cost of an expensive NICU stay is typically covered by health insurance plans. NICU stays four days or less are often partially covered under the maternal insurance. Most people meet their annual deductibles quickly with NICU stays and only have to pay what their deductible cap is. Parents who do not have health insurance may be able to get NICU costs covered by Medicaid.

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