< Back to NICU Babies, Parent Support Podcast

Episode 97: What You Need to Know About NICU Medical Billing & Insurance

March 20, 2024

Guest: Kelley Coleman, Author & Disability Advocate

Paying the medical bills and determining insurance coverage can almost be as stressful as caring for your NICU baby (and sometimes more so). Kelley Coleman – author, disability advocate and mom of a medically complex child – shares questions to ask, provides an overview of programs and shares advice from both her lived experience, as well as insurance and medical billing experts.

In this episode, we chat about:

- What types of government assistance or insurance coverage is available to parents of a NICU baby or medically complex child, and how can parents figure out what’s available to them in their state?
- Insurance appeals and the CHIP program
- Strategies for dealing with insurance and billing offices: what should families be asking or tracking?
- What’s one piece of advice you would give to a family that feels overwhelmed by insurance and medical billing offices?

About the guest

Kelley Coleman, NICU babies parent support podcast, Hand to Hold Kelley Coleman is a feature film development executive turned author, who is active in the disability advocacy community. She serves on committees for Children’s Hospital Los Angeles, the Los Angeles Unified School District, and Canine Companions. Her new book Everything No One Tells You About Parenting a Disabled Child: Your Guide to the Essential Systems, Services, and Supports stems from her own parenting experience, giving parents the tools to spend less time navigating the stuff and more time just loving their kids exactly as they are. She lives in Los Angeles with her husband, two children, and her son’s service dog.