Insurance FYI

erkyoung

I just had a baby in April and found out about a little hiccup in our insurance I thought it would be good to share in case there are others of you who didn't know about this. When I got pregnant, I asked my insurance rep all about labor and delivery costs and what would be covered. After the delivery we got our bills and paid up to our deductible of $500 (a total of $16,000 without insurance...wow). Now, three months later we have gotten a bill for $5,000 with no insurance coverage. We noticed the patient's name was my son's whereas on the other bills it was mine. After doing some calling we found out that because we went on my husband's family insurance plan instead of mine (because his has much better benefits) after the birth, any bills under our son would restart the new deductible. Of course we knew the first office visits would fall under this, but what shocked us was from the very minute he was born, he was being billed separately than me at the hospital. So, when I had asked about labor and delivery costs the insurance people only told me about mine, not my son's. I had just assumed we were covered as one for those few days in the hospital. Some parts of the bill are super silly as well, like we are both charged $3,100 for room fees when we were in the same room!

I just wanted to get this out there so that when moms-to-be are talking to insurance people, make sure to ask about the baby's coverage from the moment they're born, especially if you're switching to a spouse's insurance.  

ACleanLife24

For a functional national health care system.... One BIG reason we decided to have our babies in England before we decide to go back to the states (if we do)... No bills, no deductible, ante and post natal care, free dental when pregnant... but sadly I guess I have to buy my own breast pump and pay £12/month for unlimited prescriptions... 

jess9802

Sorry to hear this was so confusing for you. It really does help to know the details of your insurance plan, including deductibles and out of pocket limits. 

Charges for an infant are billed separately from mom. They're two different patients, after all. Different plans may have different methods for billing for those separate charges, however. DS was covered under my insurance at birth. My plan covered his nursery charges (basically, the cost of the care provided to him in the hospital even though he roomed-in with me) at 80% and those charges were not subject to his separate deductible. His circumcision was also covered at 100% and not subject to a separate deductible. My husband is now working and this baby will likely go on his plan, so I need to contact them to find out how they bill the nursery charges.