no maternity on personal ins due to new healthcare changes

AFSEAGO

Okay,

So, I am so ticked! Apparently, this wonderful healthcare plan has caused all of the insurance companies to no longer offer maternity plans on your own PERSONAL insurance. There's just...none.

How is someone supposed to plan a pregnancy with no insurance! How can the government not allow me to purchase it on my own? I am self employed with no employees so theres no chance of me getting group insurance...

Please someone tell me this is all wrong...anyone else heard of problems like these?

BlairWaldorf

I don't have maternity insurance.  Everything is filed under "general" coverage.

Maybe double-check to see if yours does this?

MegDC

First, this has nothing to do with the new healthcare law.  The new law FIXES this problem by making all insurance cover preganancy-- but it doesn't kick in until 2014.  HIPPA protected people on group plans and the new law will extend protections to individuals.

When you purchase individual insurance you have to buy a maternity rider before you get pregnant to cover pregnancy care.  If you get pregnant and don't have the rider there are no private insurance options that allow you to purchase coverage after the fact.  This is the insurance companies choice and they choose not to offer it because maternity coverage is expensive.

  Depending on what state you are in you may have some options of either getting public coverage or fighting your insurance company denial based on state laws.

 I went through a situation with a denial on my individual policy while pregnant with DD so feel free to ask me questions or PM me if you want. 

AFSEAGO

Have you gotten insurance recently? I tihnk the issue is coming into new insurance plans...I dont have any. Any new plans drawn up are not able to have maternity covered, but I did just send an email to my broker to see if it would be covered under "general coverage"

I also have heard some things about taxing over-the-counter meds as of Jan1, and children can no longer have their own individual policies(which my son has)...

madhatter2003

It's been that way a long time, you had to purchase a maternity rider before. I had personal insurance for years and had to do that just in case I got pg as you can't get one after the fact.

 

AFSEAGO

that's the problem, if you are getting a new policy right now, they are not offering the "riders"...you cant add maternity to policy if you are purchasing a personal policy right now

MegDC

AFSEAGO:

that's the problem, if you are getting a new policy right now, they are not offering the "riders"...you cant add maternity to policy if you are purchasing a personal policy right now

That is up to the individual companies as it always has been.  They were never mandated to offer the rider and they aren't mandated to now-- except at the state level so if you live in a place like CA, MA or WI you have a much better chance of having coverage options.

 

collyflower

Ugh.  That really sucks.  I can't believe they aren't even offering maternity riders anymore (I have one and it isn't cheap).  Hope you can figure something out!

Mrs.S-S

This has nothing - NOTHING to do with Health Care Reform. At all. I would keep checking individual policies. I have group coverage now, but when I was looking for an individual policy some - not many - but some - I found could add a maternity rider (and this was probably 6 months ago when I was checking). Now, it was wicked expensive to do so, but it could at least be done. To get better individual coverage options under Health Care Reform, you've got a few years left to wait.