1955 hospital bill goes viral for $60 cost of birth, 3-night stay

close

Video

Fox News Flash top headlines for August 11

Fox News Flash top headlines are here. Check out what's clicking on Foxnews.com.

Social media users are astounded by how much it cost to deliver a baby in 1955.

A redacted photo shared to Reddit is suggesting the cost of delivering a child and a three-night hospital stay in Belleville, Kansas was less than $60.

The post, which was originally shared to the Reddit Pics thread, a subreddit dedicated to sharing pictures and photographs, on June 26, is now gaining viral attention on external social media platforms.

HOW MUCH DOES IT COST TO HAVE A BABY 

"My medical school professor showed me this bill from his birth in 1955 (in the United States)," the Reddit user captioned their throwback photo.

The incredibly low-cost bill reportedly came from a Belleville Hospital and is dated Dec. 17, 1955.

According to the itemized bill, it allegedly included a three-day stay between Dec. 15 and Dec. 18 that year.  

The room and board and nursing service section is marked as costing $27 while the delivery room is marked at $15, infant care at $6, drugs and medicine at $11.95.

HAVING A BABY LATER IN LIFE MAY INCREASE LONGEVITY, STUDY SUGGESTS

Other sections of the bill were left blank, including the operating room, anesthetic, special nurse, special nurse board, dressings, glucose, urinalysis, blood examination, X-ray, basal metabolic rate (BMR), pathology exam, electrocardiogram (EKG) and oxygen and equipment – which left the Belleville Hospital account with a grand total of $59.95.

The 1955 bill would be equivalent to $610.69 in July 2021, according to the consumer price index inflation calculator from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Fox News reached out to a local hospital in Belleville, Kansas to inquire about the redacted bill, but did not immediately hear back.

HOW MUCH DOES IT COST TO RAISE A CHILD? 

A redacted photo shared to Reddit is suggesting the cost of delivering a child and a three-night hospital stay in Belleville, Kansas was less than $60. (iStock)

Commenters in the Reddit thread discussed the 66-year-old hospital bill at length. Hundreds of users shared personal stories about the hospital bills they’ve received to cover the delivery of their children.

"Haha my kid cost [$12,500], thank god for insurance…." One Redditor wrote.

"C-section here. $40k," another user commented.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

"Just shy of $700k for me. 96 days in the NICU will do that though," another Reddit user wrote, noting that their health insurance covered most of the cost. "I have a happy, healthy 4 year old now though, so it was worth every penny."