Colorado Family Hit With $400,000 NICU Bill Over Little-Known Birthday Rule | Live Insurance News

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There's a health insurance rule most
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people never hear about until it's too
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late. [music]
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One Colorado family learned that the
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hard way with a $400,000 NICU bill.
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When Megan Purse's son Benjamin was born
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prematurely, no one told them that a
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decades-old rule would decide which
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parent's insurance covered his [music]
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care.
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It's called the birthday rule. When both
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parents have separate health insurance,
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>> [music]
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>> the parent whose birthday falls earlier
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in the calendar year provides primary
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coverage.
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Not the parent with the better plan,
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[music] just the one with the earlier
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birthday. That rule was created in the
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1970s when most couples had nearly
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identical plans.
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Today, that's rarely the case, [music]
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and the difference in coverage can be
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enormous. If you're expecting a baby and
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both parents have their own insurance,
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find out about this rule now.
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Compare both plans.
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>> [music]
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>> If the parent with the earlier birthday
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has weaker coverage, consider putting
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the baby on just one plan.
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A NICU stay can cost up to $5,000
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[music]
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a day. This is not a small detail.
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There's also a second birthday rule,
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[music] and this one actually helps you.
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If you have a Medicare supplement plan,
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also called Medigap, some [music] states
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let you switch to a comparable plan
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around your birthday each year with no
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health questions asked.
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16 states offer this as of 2026. [music]
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Two rules, same name. One can cost you,
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one can save you. Both are worth knowing
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before they come up.
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Want the full breakdown? The original
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article is linked in the description,
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and don't forget to hit subscribe for
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more free news that actually matters.
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>> [music]
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[bell]
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[music]

Colorado Family Hit With $400,000 NICU Bill Over Little-Known Birthday Rule | Live Insurance News

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Colorado Family Hit With $400,000 NICU Bill Over Little-Known Birthday Rule | Live Insurance News

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