05/22/2026
Please read this important notice. The closure of accredited free-standing birth centers in Indiana is so avoidable. And while I agree completely with this statement from Hoosier Midwives, there is something very important that's missing: hospitals. Insurance companies will readily pay hospitals literally 10 times what they will pay a free-standing birth center for the SAME birth. This is immoral. Why would they do that? Because the relationships between commercial health insurance plans and hospital systems is far too cozy and patients suffer as a result. If an insurance company agrees to compensate birth centers properly, it might "damage" their relationship with hospitals. If you get your insurance through your employer demand that your employer demand that the insurance company include free-standing birth centers as an option...and that they compensate birth centers fairly. This is critical in keeping birth centers open and providing families with the choices they deserve.