Doctor charged me $400 "plus" to deliver my kid

[Fiscal]

We were in a private "sanatorio". Actually it turns out the doctor we paid didnt even do the actual surgery. He just supervised the physician on duty do it.

My wife told me she has switched from a different obgyn, who also said that she would charge a "plus" of $300, so the practice she thought was normal.

In the US $400 isn't even enough to walk into the hospital. But the practice still seems a little odd to me. The day after I had to get cash and hand it over furtively to the doctor like he was a drug dealer!

 

[ben]

I've never heard of such a practice.
Sure, we always came to the post-partum checkup with a gift, usually something from outside the country.
But cash? Never.

 

[Somewhereinba]

It's annoying but you should always ask questions and plan as much as possible to avoid these 'surprises' - unless the money doesn't matter. I've never heard of it either to be honest. A lot of Argentines think gringo = $$$ and have no issues squeezing cash out of you given the chance. Be aware and avoid falling into traps. If your partner is Argentine she should do a better job of 'protecting' you from any cash grabs like this.