Who pays the bill for neonatal intensive care?

The Children's Hospital Newborn Emergency Service conducted 174 transports to the Newborn Center during a four-month period in 1976. The transport charge directly related to the distance between the referring hospital and the NBC. Two years after the NBC discharged the last study infant, 150 of 174 accounts have been paid in full. Insurance paid 85%, families paid 4%, and the hospital wrote off 11% of all hospital charges. The Children's Hospital referred 2% of all hospital charges to a bill collection agency. One hundred-forty-four infants (84%) survived and 27 (16%) died. The mean charge per day for survivors was $338; the mean charge per day for nonsurvivors was $607.