Krishnaraj: And How Will You Be Paying for Your Baby Today? [birth tourism]

2026/01/26 Leave a comment

Good in person account of how birth tourism and other medical services affects doctors and the healthcare system:

…The primary intended use for the credit card terminal was to collect fees from uninsured, non-resident patients. These patients, who are not covered by provincial, federal, or private insurance, need to pay out of pocket for services provided in the hospital. If they are admitted, the hospital cashier collects fees for services like the bed, food, medication, and nursing care. But doctors must collect their fees directly from these patients. The amount that they bill for each specific service is guided by a document of standardized fees published by the Ontario Medical Association.

If doctors don’t bill and work in a fee-for-service system, they do not get paid for their work. Which is why in the doctors’ lounge at Humber Regional Hospital, the question was not how much to bill, but rather how to have these conversations, and when.

Is it on admission, hoping for no complications, and no further charges? Prior to letting the non-birthing parent into the operating room during a caesarian? Or do you ask the new mother to reach for their wallet as the baby is learning to nurse?

Turns out there’s no good time to give someone a bill for their baby.

This is a side of practising medicine in Canada that is rarely discussed. There were an estimated 5,430 non-resident births in Canada in 2024, according to analysis of Canadian Institute of Health Information data published by Policy Options. This is just below the historic peak of 5,698 in 2019. In 2023 — the year I was at Humber —the hospital had the highest rate of non-resident births in the country, accounting for roughly one in 10 deliveries.

I witnessed this firsthand. Almost every day, I would be asked to assess the newborn baby of an uninsured, non-resident mother on the postpartum ward….

Gautham Krishnaraj MDc PhD is a Fellow in Journalism & Health Impact at the University of Toronto’s Dalla Lana School of Public Health. 

Source: And How Will You Be Paying for Your Baby Today?

Filed under Birth Tourism, Citizenship Tagged with ,

Attention: Birth Tourism Notice [Humber River Health]

2025/01/31 Leave a comment

Wonder whether other hospitals have similar language (Humber had the highest percentage of non-resident self-pay births 2023-24):

Please be advised that while Humber River Health provides a High Quality full service Obstetrical Program, we do not support birth tourism.

We are not affiliated, associated, or in any way officially connected with CanadaMama Consulting  or any other birth tourism agency – despite any social media or website advertising they may choose to produce.

We urge all patients and families to exercise caution and ensure proper due diligence before entering into an agreement with third party organizations offering birth tourism.

Should you have any questions about the programs or services offered at Humber River Health or our current partnerships, please contact our Patients Relations Representative directly at (416) 242-1000.

Non-OHIP Rates for Uninsured Patients

Thank you for choosing Humber River Health as the place to have your baby.  

Your care provider (physician or midwife) will review the finance process with you during your prenatal visits.  

Effective November 13, 2023, the total charge for non-OHIP patients planning to deliver at Humber is $10,028 for the delivery. However, the cost of the hospital stay is subject to change and can only be confirmed on the delivery day and specific care needs. Non-OHIP birthing fees apply to gestational surrogacy whereby any parties of the surrogacy arrangement are from of out of country (even if some parties have OHIP).  Fee details need to be discussed with Cashier’s Office and payment made prior to the hospital delivery.

We ask that patients pay the full fees ten (10 days) prior to their hospital delivery.  Once payment is made, an official receipt will be provided by Cashier Office.  You will present this official receipt to the Birthing Unit Triage desk at time of registration. 

You can make the payment by cash, debit or credit card in person at the Cashier Office located at Level 1 room 1e1006 (east of Tim Horton’s near Emergency Department Fast Track Zone) of Humber River Health Hospital at 1235 Wilson Avenue.  A copy of your receipt will be issued to you….

Source: Attention: Birth Tourism Notice

Filed under Birth Tourism, Citizenship Tagged with