An American man whose pregnant wife was abandoned by the US health care system said moving to Australia was a lifeline for his young family.
Andrew Polino, 37, and his wife Nikki were living in Tampa, Florida, last year when she became pregnant.
The digital content producer had health insurance through work, so the couple thought things would work out.
But after midwives deemed his wife a “high-risk pregnancy and insurance liability,” she was fired on the “first pretext they could find” — a single missed appointment she had canceled for.
“Because of the way my insurance network worked, she was essentially blacklisted from all gynecologists (obstetricians and gynecologists) in the area,” Polino wrote on Threads.
She was offered a consultation, but that was when she would have been eight months pregnant. Other specialists refused to help because she was ‘too far along’.
“So there we sat for almost eight months, no team to deliver, no response from any of the hospitals, no OBGYN and no help or resources available,” Mr. Polinio wrote.
‘My wife, fearing for her safety, boarded a plane to her hometown of Melbourne and immediately found a full medical team to help her deliver safely.’
Andrew Polino, 37, and his wife Nikki were living in Tampa, Florida last year when she became pregnant
Mr. Polino said his daughter was born safely and the total hospital bill was only $50.
The family has now chosen to remain in Melbourne.
“We have a home, free resources for new parents, access to child care and education, universal health care and a high quality of life,” Mr. Polino wrote.
“In Florida, we faced low wages, expensive insurance, childcare costs, high hospital and pediatrician bills, inflation, gun violence, short parental leave, climate risks and other struggles for survival… and that was the best-case scenario.”
Mr Polino said his daughter was born safely in Australia and the total hospital bill was only $50
He said the “choice was not a difficult one,” adding that “no one should feel like a prisoner of their own medical providers.”
According to the latest figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics, there are approximately 110,000 US-born residents in Australia.
Last year, demographer Simon Kuestenmacher pointed out that the US records net positive migration from all over the world – with the exception of one country: Australia.
“Does this mean American Americans think Australia is the only more desirable destination on earth?” he asked ironically.
Daily Mail Australia approached Mr Polino for further comment.