BILLABLE BODIES

**In a near-future world where childbirth is a prepaid, tiered service, Cara Coleman’s high-risk pregnancy spirals into a terrifying countdown for survival as her balance ticks toward zero.**

SYNOPSIS-

In a near-future healthcare system where childbirth is a prepaid, tiered service, Cara Coleman carefully arranges her birth plan alongside her husband and their care provider. However, their affordable, mid-tier option with Parenthix Optimum Solutions doesn’t grant them VIP status, leaving Cara’s concerns about her high-risk pregnancy unaddressed. When a complication triggers emergency care, Cara and her husband realize that every moment of care carries a cost.

As her balance drains in real time, the hospital’s politeness gives way to indifference, then enforcement. Every decision narrows her options, transforming childbirth into a terrifying countdown where survival is contingent on what she can afford. Billable Bodies exposes the consequences of a system whose mechanisms determine who receives care — and who is left without it.

MEDICAL HORROR SHORT - DEVELOPMENT

WRITER-DIRECTOR STATEMENT:

We live in a time where nearly everything has become subscription-based — from entertainment to healthcare. Billable Bodies was born from a simple question: what happens when you can no longer afford to pay? As healthcare costs continue to rise in the US, the quality and accessibility of care fails to keep pace. Nowhere is this more dangerous than in childbirth. The U.S. has the highest maternal mortality rate in the developed world, and Black women are more than three times as likely to die from pregnancy-related causes than their white counterparts — a disparity that only widens with age.

Horror offers a unique lens through which to examine these realities. It allows us to externalize fear, expose power structures, and confront uncomfortable truths without softening them. Through Billable Bodies, I wanted to create a story where the true antagonist is a healthcare model that robs patients of their agency while prioritizing profit over humanity. My hope is that this film lingers with audiences long after the credits roll, prompting reflection, conversation, and a deeper awareness of the quiet, institutional violence embedded in everyday care.