She Paid $20,000 For Her Own Pregnancy, Then Built The Fix For Medicaid Moms
Key takeaways
- Forbes Women She Paid $20,000 For Her Own Pregnancy, Then Built The Fix For Medicaid Moms By Geri Stengel,
- Forbes contributors publish independent expert analyses and insights.
- That gap, tracked by a healthcare executive who understood every billing code and still couldn't escape the damage, is the founding document of Malama Health.
Forbes Women She Paid $20,000 For Her Own Pregnancy, Then Built The Fix For Medicaid Moms By Geri Stengel,
Forbes contributors publish independent expert analyses and insights. Geri Stengel writes about the success factors of women entrepreneurs. Follow Author Jun 08, 2026, 07:00am EDT--:-- / --:--This voice experience is generated by AI. Learn more.This voice experience is generated by AI. Learn more.Malama Health's free app tracks glucose, nutrition, and symptoms and connects women directly to their care team—available in every U.S. state and 20+ countries, in multiple languages.Malama Health is a Medicaid-first maternal care startup delivering doula-led, tech-enabled support for high-risk pregnancies.Mika Eddy still has the spreadsheet. Every line item. Every Explanation of Benefits. The total for her first pregnancy—an unmedicated vaginal delivery during Covid, while she was director of Clinical Product Innovation at UnitedHealthcare—came to just over $100,000 billed, and $20,000 out of pocket. Her third pregnancy, at Kaiser, cost $150.
That gap, tracked by a healthcare executive who understood every billing code and still couldn't escape the damage, is the founding document of Malama Health.