分娩費超貴！美國女性寧願在國外生兒育女US women Choosing Cheaper Countries to Have Babies

Many women have moved to the United States to have children in order to get permanent residency for their children. However, more and more US women are seeking cheaper countries like France or New Zealand to have babies.

In 2019, more than 66,000 Americans had babies abroad, trying to escape the crushing costs of maternity and childcare. The US has become one of the countries with highest childcare costs in the world.

Even if you have a job with employer-provided health insurance, you are expected to pay an average of $4,569 in out-of-pocket childbirth fees.

友善讓你懂 │ 解說

許多外國女性為了讓下一代取得美國永久居留權，會想盡辦法來到美國生產；但美國女性卻是反其道而行，愈來愈多人選擇去醫療便宜國家（例如：法國、紐西蘭）來生兒育女。

2019 年時，為了逃避貴得嚇人的分娩費和育兒費，有超過 6.6 萬的美國女性在海外生產，因為美國早已成為世界上育兒成本最高昂的前幾名國家之一。就算你在美國有正職工作、雇主會支付一定的醫療保險，平均來說也要再額外自付約 4569 美元（約台幣 13.4 萬元）的分娩費。

輕鬆帶著走 │ 學習

out-of-pocket 指的就是「自付費用」，在保險中指的是得額外掏出的自付額，如果是out-of-pocket expenses，則指事先墊付、事後核銷的費用。

例句：Don’t worry, there are no out-of-pocket costs for the medical care.
別擔心，這次不會有需要額外自付的醫療費用。

本篇其他相關單字，介紹如下：

1. 1. permanent residency n. 永久居留權
2. 2. crushing adj. 極其嚴重的
3. 3. maternity 可當名詞，指母職的意思；也可當形容詞，指懷孕的。
4. 4. childcare n. 育兒
5. 5. health insurance n. 醫療保險、健康保險
6. 6. childbirth n. 分娩、生產