Two Babies Means Double the Medical Expenses

It may come as no surprise that twins will typically cost you twice as much as a singleton baby.

Even though I know this (boy, do I know this!), I always feel a pinch of pain when I have to take both girls to the doctor and pay two insurance copays.

You’ll feel this financial pinch, too.

This may be because I’m used to paying a single copay when I go to the doctor or when I take one of my other children to the pediatrician.

But even with twins, a trip to the doctor appears on the surface to be the same as when you take a singleton. You make one appointment for two babies, particularly for well baby checkups. You have a single drive to the office. Everyone waits in the same room.

All these events psychologically set your expectations that this is a single visit to the doctor.

All, of course, until you have to pay twice.

I have asked (it seems like every time) if I get a two-for-one deal on the copay but the office staff never seems to find that funny.

So if double copays are the reality, you just need to be ready.

Well baby checkups follow a set pattern (every three months, then every six months, for example), so you can lay these out on the calendar and budget your money accordingly.

Build in a buffer of savings for the inevitable sicknesses that will come.

We’ve also used a Flex Spending account that my employer offers to help standardize our health expenses and get a tax break in the process.

Remember those double copays. Don’t be surprised or caught off guard, be ready by budgeting and saving for them.

And if you find a pediatrician who will give you a two-for-one on copays, I want their phone number.

Picture by -Manda