Any one else around here have no maternity coverage?

katiengarrett · May 2010

Are you freaking out? Because all of the sudden I am freaking out.

Blueyedgrl · May 2010

We have no maternity coverage, and I just got done paying for this 7 months ago,

but to answer your question no I'm not freaking out because i have done it without coverage before and I know the drill, I actually ended up paying less than my SIL did with insurance because of deals the hospitals and some doctors are will to make with you,

I don't live in your area ubt i may be able to answer questions or tell you things in more detail if you would like...HTH

lilmgirl · May 2010

Why would you TTC w/out maternity coverage?

katiengarrett · May 2010

I was doing fine until there was some discussion about insurance on another board this evening.

I know that some hospitals and clinics have sliding scales based on income and coverage. I also know that there are payment plans, and all that. We will be ok, I know we will. I am wondering if this is not all because I am already really nervous about my first ultrasound on Friday.

Blueyedgrl · May 2010

lilmgirl:
Why would you TTC w/out maternity coverage?

well I will answer this for my situation, My husband is self employed and to add maternity coverage to our policy is an outrageous price jump so we choose to just pay out of pocket... We were aware of things when we started having children and were prepared for what we would have to pay to have a baby. Some people are blessed to have coverage offered through an employer so they make do

katiengarrett · May 2010

Blueyedgrl:
lilmgirl:
Why would you TTC w/out maternity coverage?
well I will answer this for my situation, My husband is self employed and to add maternity coverage to our policy is an outrageous price jump so we choose to just pay out of pocket... We were aware of things when we started having children and were prepared for what we would have to pay to have a baby. Some people are blessed to have coverage offered through an employer so they make do

We actually are in a very similar situation. My husband is also self employed, and my company offers only supplemental insurance. We are covered under COBRA from my husband's last job, and I cannot add the maternity coverage option any more. We have money saved up, but some of it has gone to other things such as fixing cars, and other things life just throws at you. I know that we are fully capable of re-saving what we need before we are going to need it. I'm just freaking out for no real reason I think.

One of those nights, maybe?

Blueyedgrl · May 2010

katiengarrett:

Blueyedgrl:
lilmgirl:
Why would you TTC w/out maternity coverage?
well I will answer this for my situation, My husband is self employed and to add maternity coverage to our policy is an outrageous price jump so we choose to just pay out of pocket... We were aware of things when we started having children and were prepared for what we would have to pay to have a baby. Some people are blessed to have coverage offered through an employer so they make do

We actually are in a very similar situation. My husband is also self employed, and my company offers only supplemental insurance. We are covered under COBRA from my husband's last job, and I cannot add the maternity coverage option any more. We have money saved up, but some of it has gone to other things such as fixing cars, and other things life just throws at you. I know that we are fully capable of re-saving what we need before we are going to need it. I'm just freaking out for no real reason I think.

One of those nights, maybe?

Yes, I'm sure it will all work out no worries, I will say though to call the hospital you plan on delivering at and talk to them about the cost there that way you aren't surprised and if they have a discount that you can get it, we got a HUGE discount but they only way you could get if wasa if you paid part of your charges before discharge..so those are just things to look into, also I have gotten major discounts on my labs and such also by just being up front that we are self pay, you will be surprised how much they are over charging insuarnce companies..

katiengarrett · May 2010

I am planning on calling the hospital before we go in obviously, but for things like ultrasounds, and prenatal check ups, did you call ahead of time? Or call when you got your bill? Tell them when you check in? When is an appropriate time to do this?

Blueyedgrl · May 2010

katiengarrett:
I am planning on calling the hospital before we go in obviously, but for things like ultrasounds, and prenatal check ups, did you call ahead of time? Or call when you got your bill? Tell them when you check in? When is an appropriate time to do this?

I called ahead of time to get an idea for the hospital and any labs that were going to be done at the hospital, and then just advised them when i was checking in for services, and depending on the policy you go from there. As far as my prenatal care with my OB I was up front and told them that I was paying for everything out of pocket including labs, and they wrote out a contract that included my intial OB appt, my prenatal care, delivery and post care... then they had a lab service in office and if I paid the day of my labs I got almost a 75% discount,

Obviously every hospital and doctor is different, but I would totally suggest letting everyone know up front before you go into places to have things done.

For example my hospital charges for me and baby vaginal delevery should have been close to 10,000 and I paid about 3000, but thats because I had called ahead and was informed of a program they offered to self pay clients, yes I had to pay almost 1000 when I was discharged but the rest was set in a payment plan.

I had no surprises on charges because of the calling around ahead of time.. HTH

KacieLeigh · May 2010

lilmgirl:
Why would you TTC w/out maternity coverage?

If you have self-employed insurance or your boss doesn't supply insurance - you most likely will not have maternity insurance without paying out the butt for it. And you have to pay into it for almost a year before you can even begin to use it.

To OP: We did it with DD. Our insurance doesn't cover maternity. We paid 8k out of pocket. You can negotiate with your hospital. I always suggest talking to them as soon as possible so you can know how much you need to be saving. They quoted me a little under 6k but it ended up costing almost 8k. So save a little more than what they quote you!

nygirl07 · May 2010

I guess it's different per state...I live in NJ and have a individual plan for myself that costs me $183 a month and covers maternity...I only pay $500...my DH is self employeed also.

My sister ended up pregnant with no healthcare and her Dr told her she would cover all pre and post natal care and the delivery for $3000....which shocked me b/c it's cheaper then some people who have good insurance pay for a deductible.

She ended up getting state coverage and didn't go that route which she was lucky to get b/c my niece was born almost 2 months early and was in the NICU for 2 months

Blueyedgrl · May 2010

nygirl07:

I guess it's different per state...I live in NJ and have a individual plan for myself that costs me $183 a month and covers maternity...I only pay $500...my DH is self employeed also.

My sister ended up pregnant with no healthcare and her Dr told her she would cover all pre and post natal care and the delivery for $3000....which shocked me b/c it's cheaper then some people who have good insurance pay for a deductible.

She ended up getting state coverage and didn't go that route which she was lucky to get b/c my niece was born almost 2 months early and was in the NICU for 2 months

Coverage is possible but there is a wait time in indiana, and As far a state coverage we don't qualify so thats no help to us, thats why we pay for it out of pocket, we have regular insurance that covers everything else and baby will automatically be added to it just doesn't cover my maternity, but all in all 7 months ago we paid a total of 6000 for the hospital, all of my OB coverage, and my epidural....

I dunno for us its no biggie this is something that was planned and we knew what the expenses are, its not like we got pregnant looking for a hand out... as it seems to be a PP took this post that way

abovewedding · May 2010

$3,000-8,000?! Does it seriously cost that much to have a baby in the US?

mchupie · May 2010

abovewedding:
$3,000-8,000?! Does it seriously cost that much to have a baby in the US?

It's usually more, actually. And that's if there aren't any complications with you or baby.

MaggieGrace · May 2010

katiengarrett:
I am planning on calling the hospital before we go in obviously, but for things like ultrasounds, and prenatal check ups, did you call ahead of time? Or call when you got your bill? Tell them when you check in? When is an appropriate time to do this?

Definitely call ahead of time! And, ask what they are going to charge before you do anything. I have had ultrasounds that cost $140 and others that cost $800. There was a wide discrepancy because Aetna has different cost contracts with different practices. When my Dr. was telling me about the CF blood test she said that up until a month ago the lab they used charged $700, but then they switched labs and now the lab they use only charge $120. There are WIDE varieties in what you can be charged for a bunch of things.

One final thought, when you are going for an US, if they do both a vaginal and an external, they will charge you twice. When this happened to me recently I fought it, since there was no reason for an external US....I was only 6 weeks along.

GL!

Want a personalized experience?

Any one else around here have no maternity coverage?

Re: Any one else around here have no maternity coverage?

Choose Another Board

Search Boards