How Gil and Kelly Jo Bates pay for their 19 children

Aug, 13, 2012 | AUTHOR: Starcasm Staff; | Related : Gil Bates, United Bates of America

Gil, Kelly Jo Bates, and their 19 children are the new Duggars. They’re even friends with The Duggars. Both families belong in a rare niche: Modern American families who actively refuse to use birth control, and instead let God decide how many children they have. (They also both may or may not belong to The Quiverfull movement.)

Their new reality show The United Bates of America debuts on TLC tonight at 9/8c, and we’ll get to see if the viewing audience wants to watch more mega-families.

Of course now The Bates are reality stars (if the show works out,) so the opportunities that come along with that will help pay for their children, but they’ve been already surviving for two decades with a large brood. The question is: how do two non-billionaire adults find the money to feed and care for so many children?

Again, The Bates have many similarities to The Duggars with their financial philosophies, but how they get their income is a bit different.

Gil Bates’s family tree-cutting business is the main source of family income. His sons work for him, but one of his sons actually started his own business. Their fourth child Lawson started a lawncare service, Lawson’s Lawncare, when he was just 13. Now his business does so well that he actually lends money to his family.

The other way the Bates pay for their family is simply by stretching a dollar as far as it can go.

They buy things on sale, shop at second-hand stores, and get hand-me-downs from other familie. They also refuse any debt or loans (except within the family, apparently) and don’t even have auto-loans, or a mortgage on their large house.

Gil told 20/20:

“We try out best to live as cheap as we can. I’m a real penny pincher. I’m probably worse than a penny pincher. We try not to buy stuff that’s full price. We wait till it goes on sale, and if it’s not a necessity we try not to buy it unless it’s something we really need.”

Gil’s also a fan of all the tax deductions the family can take: “That’s a wonderful thing. America is a great place to live.”

One odd thing about they family’s financial plan is that they don’t have health insurance. In the 20/20 episode, Gil praised the care the family receives at the ER, but that doesn’t exactly explain how they pay ER bills, which can be quite high. They do receive free prenatal care from a faith-based clinic.

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Ashley

So are they replacing 19 Kids and Counting on TLC? I’ve been wondering when/if the Duggar’s new season is going to start.
Alexis

I would be interested in hearing how they support 19 kids. I remember seeing an episode years and years ago(no longer have cable) where the Duggars go and build an addition for the Bates since they lived in this tiny tiny little house.
- Alexis
  
  Also my guess at the time was that TLC was paying for the materials since they were using it for an episode.
Caroline

One thing left out that Gil Bates said in an ABC interview is that he uses the ER for healthcare. They have no insurance. They did have insurance 11 years ago and Gil left the corporate world(they had a normal middle class 2 story house in the cu-de-sac go to school life) to be a tree trimmer. Now the kids are uninsured and the hospital writes off the bill. They admit usuing the ER for strep throat!Gil brgas America is great that you can walk into any Er and get free care(well Gil my child broke a bone and I paid a $1000 dedtible like most of us have too) Kelly gets low cost prenatal care at a christian clinic which is fine but the hospital writes off the birth and 2 or her last 3 babies have spent time in the NICU, which is not cheap.

As much as Im not a huge Duggar fan Jim Bob pay for most of his health care(except Josie) and Jim Bob never gave up a job that had healthcare, stability and benefits to follow a life of religious poverty.

Yes it is sad that Gil admits his teenage son Lawson lends the family money from mowing lawns. He frequently has to pay for groceries which is sad.
- Kim
  
  ok so why isn’t josie covered under his health insurence>
- Kayla
  
  That just makes me sick of it is true. I’ve used the ER once in my adult life with no insurance and that was because I threw my back out to the point where I could barely walk which happened after my regular doctor’s office was closed. In fact the on-call doc at my clinic told me to go to the ER.
  
  I got a bill for over $800.00 and all they did to me was give me a shot and a prescription. I spoke with them about me not having insurance but that I was more than willing to pay my bill. They cut the bill in half with what was called an “uninsured discount”.
  
  So I want to know how the Bates get their bills “written off” completely? I can’t imagine a hospital doing that for this family considering how many times they’ve spent down at the ER. These types of people are what drive the cost of healthcare up. They abuse a system that was put in place to make sure people with real or life-threatening conditions could get medical care. It should not be used for things like strep-throat which can and should be treated by a minute-clinic or something (since they don’t have insurance).
Abbie

I work in the healthcare industry and by using the ER as primary care for his family, Mr. Bates is costing the average American more than he would if his whole family was on welfare/wic. People don’t realize what a financial burden uninsured hospital patients are for insured patients. Especially a family of 20!
OhMyGeez

So he pretty much admits to (if not brags about) being irresponsible and giving up a job with healthcare for his entire flock so that he can rely on good ol’ America to pick up the tab? Awesome! How about you invest in CONDOMS and STOP HAVING KIDS! So sick of the clown car uteruses popping out 16257635 kids and expecting others to help raise them!
Kim

ok so why isn’t josie covered?
- Alexis
  
  I think they were saying he didn’t end up paying out of pocket for her health bills. Since she spent so much time in the NICU she very well could be a million dollar baby.
- Caroline
  
  Josie was born under 2.2 lbs which makes her considered disabled and gets automatic federal coverage even if you have private coverage. Now Jim Bob did have to pay for Michelle helicopter flight and stay but not Josie. There was another baby shown on 19 kidsepisode that was born very early like Josie with very similiar issues and stayed almost the same number of days in the same hospital. I have read the parents blog and the bills were way over 1 million and the parents had insurance via their work but the state/federal programs paid for the bills not their insurance.
  - Kim
    
    oh ok thanks
http://hopewellmomschoolreborn.blogspot.com/ Lisa

The Bates’s are debt free if you discount not paying the ER bills, borrowing from their own son and allowing friends (and TLC) to build their house.

And their eldest, an elected official, has to OBEY his parents, live at home and take a sibling with him for “accountability”…..otherwise, nice family.

I DO think Gil/Kelly do more for their kids than the Mr. and Mrs. Duggar.
MeMeMe

I work full time, My husband works full time and I pay over 100 bucks a paycheck for our family insurance. We have a family of 4. We are wanting more children but have to work it into the budget. Going to the ER would not be one of our options, why put the rest of society in debt because we want more children?
- Kathy
  
  Because it’s God’s will. (sarcasm)
  
  Gil Bates is a hypocrite.
Shellz

OMG, so many many judges and jury on this site…..I just wanted to say that they are such a beautiful family, inside and out. every last one of their kids are attractive and they all seem to have good and genuine hearts. I really wish them well and hope their show is a success. i think the duggars are great, but it’s time for a change. i feel like i know all i need to know about the duggars by now. good luck to the bates!
tonya

Let me guess you guys don’t do anything wrong but do you go out and spend your time at nursing homes and do different things to help other people And not ask for a dime in return they’re very giving , they’re very loving ando they’re very real.

God bless the Bates and the Duggars