Obamacare worries - Trying to make the right decision

musicbaby

I'm trying to make a responsible decision on when to have our 2nd child.  We currently have a 2 year old and are eager to have our second but the whole unknown about Obamacare has been concerning.  Ideally we would like to get pregnant in November/December and have the baby in the late summer/early fall.  I'm not sure when obamacare takes effect but I know it's sometime soon/possibly start of the new year which would be during the pregnancy.    I currently have health insurance through my employer, but I wouldn't consider my benefits through work to be stable.  They've tried to switch insurances on us twice in 1 year in order to save money.     So I just don't know what to do. If I should do the responsible thing and wait till the whole insurance/obamacare thing settles and I have a better understanding of what to expect insurance wise, which would mean waiting another year.  Or if we should just go for it and risk a lot of insurance stress during the pregnancy.   Help? 

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musicbaby

Thank you for your response I appreciate it! 

tortuga47

The last time I spoke with Kaiser (months ago) they said nothing was actually figured by the government yet. They will know more Oct 1. It starts Jan 1, but when I brought up trying for a baby and my concern for what policy I would be under, I was quite literally told don't worry about it because they can't use it as a pre-existing condition at that point and I could switch to whatever policy I wanted before Jan 1. Maybe this is no longer true, but when I spoke with them about it, that is what I was told. I think you choose when you have your baby and don't let Obamacare dictate it. As PP said, I think it will be years before it's all figured out. I don't know your insurance, but the last time I worked somewhere where health insurance COBRA was an option. I am now self employed, so no matter how I look at it, I will be paying BIG! Use your insurance while you have it!!!

tortuga47

uncaripswife said:

Tortuga47, open enrollment starts October 1st. Go to healthcare.gov to shop for insurance. You may find that your insurance costs go down once the exchanges, aka The Marketplace, are up and running for January 1st.

I hope you're right. My premium has more than doubled since it passed so I guess I've been fearing the worst. I'll hope for the best

tortuga47

tortuga47 said:

uncaripswife said:

Tortuga47, open enrollment starts October 1st. Go to healthcare.gov to shop for insurance. You may find that your insurance costs go down once the exchanges, aka The Marketplace, are up and running for January 1st.

I hope you're right. My premium has more than doubled since it passed so I guess I've been fearing the worst. I'll hope for the best

Gulp. Using the calculator there, our premiums will almost double after government assistance, for the silver plan...yowzah

SingleMom31

uncaripswife said:

My job is to explain Obamacare to people (I work for the federal government). There is nothing in the law that would effect your pregnancy. Obamacare does not need to be a consideration for you deciding when to have a baby. And, also, it has been illegal for a health plan to treat pregnancy as a pre-existing condition since 1996.

@uncaripswife - Is there a good place to get an overview of how the Affordable Care Act will impact me?  If it matters, I have insurance through my employer, who is self insured with Blue Cross administering the plan.

sjames2

uncaripswife said:

My job is to explain Obamacare to people (I work for the federal government). There is nothing in the law that would effect your pregnancy. Obamacare does not need to be a consideration for you deciding when to have a baby. And, also, it has been illegal for a health plan to treat pregnancy as a pre-existing condition since 1996.

My husband was let go 3 weeks before my due date. Not a single insurance company would take either of us till the baby had been born. Except Cobra. All because it was considered a pre-existing condition. Was every company wrong for treating us as a pre-existing condition? I was told by all companies that starting Jan 1, 2014 that it will no longer be considered pre-existing. I'm just questioning all the stress I went thru 3 weeks before my due date?

daniella2727

I am no expert but this is what I know...

Right now I have insurance through my very large, reputable company. If I  left I would be covered by COBRA at the cost of $1600 per month! Yikes! 

I am considering becoming a SAHM and my husband is self employed meaning we would have to purchase our own health insurance.  I called ehealthinsurance.com (think that is the correct site?) and they told me RIGHT NOW if I were to get insurance that included maternity coverage, most policies require you to wait for 6 months BEFORE the maternity coverage kicks in! 

Come OCT 1. the insurance companies can tell you what the new plans, impacted by OBAMACARE will include and what the costs will be, as ALL plans will be required to include some level of maternity care and will require that care to be applied/allow at the onset of purchasing it.  Although plan details and costs will be provided on Oct. 1, you can not buy and apply these plans/new rules until Jan. 1.

smfdjo

Didn't read all the responses but sorry if this is a duplicate.  As of Jan 1 2014 the exchanges will be available to everyone.  The only way they will end up being cheaper to you then your private insurance is if you qualify for the subsidy which you won't if your employers plan meets the affordability aspect of the PPACA.  (Keep in mind I am talking about single coverage). 

Now this year they moved back the employer mandate to 2015, that could very well happen with the exchanges as well but as of now it is still a go and your employer will need to provide you a notice of the exchanges by October 1st.  If at this point you lost coverage you would have the option to elect COBRA and continue the same coverage.  You would be responsible for the entire premium though.  (Unless the company goes under completely, not just you were terminated)

Not sure if that helps.  But you can never predict the future even if everything seems like the perfect situation and you end up pregnant the next day everything can change.  Just make an informed decision and have a back up.