Insurance

JulieSmiles

Good evening! So, I just switched to a new job in August. I signed up for my works insurance and coverage should begin tomorrow. I talked to them extensively when signing up and they told me that I couldn't have pregnancy confirmed before the start of my plan. I've waited and was planning to go to the doc this week. My insurance cards have still not come yet for me or anyone else who started at the same time as me. I began looking through some of the paperwork I was originally given. The agent encouraged me to get pregnancy disability coverage. In the paperwork it says that they won't cover a birth within the first 9 months of the policy. I feel like I was scammed since the agent told me it was fine as long as pregnancy isn't confirmed prior to oct. 1. He made it seem like I could get pregnant before that date, just don't have a doctor confirm it. I'm really frustrated and not sure what to do. I don't have a card to even be able to call and ask because I don't have the policy number. Anyone have any thoughts or suggestions?

abbyful

I really don't know a lot about the new health care changes / Obamacare, so perhaps someone more informed can jump in, but I thought it was now illegal to deny "pre-existing conditions".

Edit to add: Are you talking about them denying medical coverage of your pregnancy, or short-term disability?

JulieSmiles

I'm not sure what I think they will deny. They told me they will deny me for pregnancy if a doctor confirms it before the coverage start date. I think I'm more worried about them denying to cover my short term disability. I'm hoping it won't even be a concern, but it is frustrating to pay for it if they won't cover me because I miss the 9 month timeline by a few weeks. I don't know much about the new health care reform either, but they refuse to cover any medical expenses related to my spine disorder. I really cannot stand the hoops that some insurance companies make people jump through.

Savvy122

I have a short-term disability policy through Aflac and my policy is exactly as you described: if I would have delivered a baby within ten months of the policy effective date, I would not have been eligible for the benefits.  You need to have been covered and paying toward your policy for at least ten months before it will pay out to you. 

Jennylou0604

You should have a rep from your work that can get the Id and member number for you before your cards come in. In some cases they will even email you a temp card. That's what happened when my DH switched jobs recently. We had to go through a bunch of hoops, but ended up getting all the info and numbers before receiving our actual cards.

chickpea912

If you are talking about pregnancy disability coverage, that sounds like short term disability,n it your health insurance. Is it official as of Sept 1 or Oct 1? Is Sept 1, you might get in under the nine month rule, but you need to get in touch with someone.