Adding baby to insurance

chevronseven · April 2014

I'm thinking I actually might not. It will be an extra $300 a month to put him on mine, which is crappy coverage as it is, and $600 a month to add him to DH's! I looked it up and the average medical costs for baby's first year are only about $700. So I'm thinking of setting up an unofficial health savings account and using that to just pay cash at doctor visits. Anyone have experience with this? Update: You guys brought up some really good points and changed my mind. I'm looking into other options.

BP607 · April 2014

I think this sounds like a really bad idea. Baby will need checkups and immunizations at 2,4,6,9 and 12 months. When we took LO to Dr, it would be around 300-400 for immunizations and a well visit is just under $200. (this is what was billed to insurance) Not to mention if you get ear infections, illnesses, etc. Also, if for some reason you would have a major medical expense, it could put you in serious financial jeopardy. Not to mention some dr.'s won't take private pay patients, so you might not even be able to get in with a Dr. My cousin doesn't have insurance and has been trying to get in with a GYN to address some issues with her ovaries and no dr in town will take her. So, if you are set in not getting insurance, make sure that you check to see if a dr will see you without.

GL on whatever you decide. I know $300 is a lot extra a month, you just have to decide whatever is best for you!

jnnfrrose6 · April 2014

Well I hope everything goes great for you and your child has no complications or sickness in the first year, or until you do put them on someone's insurance.

That's the point of insurance, to cover in case of something extreme. Sure it's a gamble that you won't need it, but when you do, it's so much better to have it.

There are other options usually for kids to get some kind of coverage if it isn't affordable for you through your current plan. Medicare/caid (someone correct me on these, I can't ever keep the straight) for kids, etc. I'd look into that before deciding not to have any coverage for my child.

alygoo615 · April 2014

Also agree that's a horrible idea. That statistic is completely incorrect. I just did our taxes and J's medical bills AFTER going through insurance were over that between copays, coinsurance and medication alone. Having kids isn't cheap, but it's irresponsible not to insure your baby.

strmbreez · April 2014

I'm in the same boat. My insurance is going up to $600 per month, half of what I make. However, I know it's important for the baby to have insurance, and I'd rather be safe than sorry and pay out more in the long run...

AutumnBonfire · April 2014

I also think not having insurance is bad idea. You have no idea what's going to happen. I don't know how much medical expenses cost with DS in the first year, but it was probably way more than 700. We had all the regular check-ups, his umbilical stump took five weeks to fall off and they cauterized it twice ($150 each time), and he was sick a few times (ear infections, bronchialitis).

Not getting insurance is definitely a gamble. Personally, if it came down to money, I'd insure the baby and get rid of my own.

pfeilele · April 2014

You'll still have to pay for the birth too. Once baby is here, they are racking up their own bills. And let's hope there's no NICU time on top of that.

chevronseven · April 2014

Lots of good points here. I knew you ladies would have lots to say, that's why I asked! I might look into Medicaid....

nicoletteb · April 2014

Exactly what @AutumnBonfire said. I would get rid of mine and my husbands coverage first before sacrificing my child's. Hopefully it doesn't come down to that for you, and you're able to find other ways to lower expenses. Is there maybe a lower tier you can drop down to? Maybe where you pay a lower premium and higher co-pays/deductibles?

helloblueeyes · April 2014

Of all the crazy parenting things i've heard people do in the first year, that might take the cake as the stupidest.

chevronseven · April 2014

nicoletteb said:
Exactly what AutumnBonfire said. I would get rid of mine and my husbands coverage first before sacrificing my child's. Hopefully it doesn't come down to that for you, and you're able to find other ways to lower expenses. Is there maybe a lower tier you can drop down to? Maybe where you pay a lower premium and higher co-pays?

I already have that plan . It's super cheap for just me but adding a dependant is crazy. Sacrificing my own wouldn't really make a difference, it's only $10 for me. I'm feeling so down about this right now. We waited 3 years to have kids until we were at least kind of financially stable. Another year would have been better since by then DH will be done with school and working, but I got impatient and thought we'd be ok now. I didn't realize at the time how terrible my insurance is or how much it would be to add the baby to it, and now I feel like we're these irresponsible kids who are having a baby before we're ready.

chevronseven · April 2014

tundrabunny said:

livelaughlove88 said:

nicoletteb said:
Exactly what AutumnBonfire said. I would get rid of mine and my husbands coverage first before sacrificing my child's. Hopefully it doesn't come down to that for you, and you're able to find other ways to lower expenses. Is there maybe a lower tier you can drop down to? Maybe where you pay a lower premium and higher co-pays?
I already have that plan . It's super cheap for just me but adding a dependant is crazy. Sacrificing my own wouldn't really make a difference, it's only $10 for me. I'm feeling so down about this right now. We waited 3 years to have kids until we were at least kind of financially stable. Another year would have been better since by then DH will be done with school and working, but I got impatient and thought we'd be ok now. I didn't realize at the time how terrible my insurance is or how much it would be to add the baby to it, and now I feel like we're these irresponsible kids who are having a baby before we're ready.

Seriously, there's never a "perfect" time to have a child. I wish DH and I were in better financial position also, but I've come to the conclusion that the perfect time to have a child is the time that it is happening. You just need to make it work. Lots of parents in worse situations than yours make it work.

$300/month is a lot, but it's not insurmountable and honestly, in this day and age, it's absolutely necessary to have health insurance. One minor incident with your kid could cost way more than the $3,600 worth of premiums you're talking about here.

Thank you. That's what I keep trying to tell myself, that there is no perfect time and we're way better off than lots of people who are having kids (better off than my parents were when they had me!).

Ylvelill · April 2014

Not sure where you found your info, but my 5 min of research showed the $700 to be on the low end of what insured people spent the first year for one baby.

Everyone else gave you good advise!

Glitzyklm · April 2014

So I just went on to see how much insurance has covered since DS was born, 2,479.97. Well child visits, a trip to an allergist and normal childhood ear infections. He's in great health.

MUCH more than 700 a year. Put your baby on insurance.

katnipeverclean · April 2014

Yikes, I hate to think what our medical bills would be if we had not covered our daughter especially since she had chronic ear infections and was at the ped every month for her ears and abx, then later to a specialist. Not something I would do for sure.

nicoletteb · April 2014

livelaughlove88 said:

nicoletteb said:
Exactly what AutumnBonfire said. I would get rid of mine and my husbands coverage first before sacrificing my child's. Hopefully it doesn't come down to that for you, and you're able to find other ways to lower expenses. Is there maybe a lower tier you can drop down to? Maybe where you pay a lower premium and higher co-pays?
I already have that plan . It's super cheap for just me but adding a dependant is crazy. Sacrificing my own wouldn't really make a difference, it's only $10 for me. I'm feeling so down about this right now. We waited 3 years to have kids until we were at least kind of financially stable. Another year would have been better since by then DH will be done with school and working, but I got impatient and thought we'd be ok now. I didn't realize at the time how terrible my insurance is or how much it would be to add the baby to it, and now I feel like we're these irresponsible kids who are having a baby before we're ready.

You're not being irresponsible. It sounds like you are trying to do the research before baby gets here, which is much more responsible than waiting until the baby is actually born. And it sounds like you are receptive to the advice that is being given so that sounds like a start. That being said, an irresponsible kid would probably forgo insurance for their child, but it looks like you're now searching for an option that works financially for you. Good luck!

lamarei · April 2014

There are private pay options, like through an insurance agent. Blue cross blue shield had individual plans as well as the new government instance. My step son was able to insure himself very inexpensively at healthcare.gov I think.

nola 1017 · April 2014

I wouldn't chance it. My DD had chronic ear infections and ended up needing tubes all before her first birthday. She also came down with a 102 fever when she was three months old and that earned us a night in the ER at Children's, urine samples, and xrays to check for pnuemonia. You just never know. I'd rather be safe than sorry.

cookieinva · April 2014

DS was a pretty easy, healthy baby but even still...my insurance only covers me in the hospital for birth, not him (his own coverage was needed for his hospital bills at birth). He also had jaundice at birth which required daily visits, tests and care. It can add up fast, especially paying hospital bills.

bluebird1109 · April 2014

If you don't want to add the baby to your existing plan, then just shop on the private market. Its only $130 per month for great coverage. I looked into it because I work as a teacher and our health plans are ridiculous to add a dependent, its $800 per month. You should have insurance for your child, its very irresponsible not to do so. There are many options out there, like getting a discounted health plan through your state or contacting insurance companies directly like I mentioned earlier. Shop around and see what you find.

aimeepigott · April 2014

I would not go the Medicaid route...that is more for those on gov't assistance. Look into your options through obamacare. That is you best bet besides just adding him to one of your policies. If you also have to put LO in daycare your gonna need health insurance for him/her.

AMcLaws · April 2014

I wouldn't even say it's a question. Always insure. I went uninsured for about a year, but we made damn sure DD had coverage. You just never know.

AKbadwolf · April 2014

Two more aw shit instances that highly encourage insurance

DS2 got bronchitis at 6 weeks old due to an irresponsible relative. He then had asthma that required 3 er visits a nebulizer, and medications all before he was a year old.

DD My mom was walking up stairs with DD when she was ~6 months old, tripped over a dog (not mine) and fell. DD hit her leg on a step just right to break it. We took her to the ER and they said probably just bruised, took her back the next day because she was favoring it and they did xrays which showed she had broke it. Had a splint put on, multiple xrays and multiple specialty visits totaled about $10k. Thankfully we were double covered.

zellatrix · April 2014

I think it is absolutely shameful that insurance is ever that expensive. That just sucks.

zellatrix · April 2014

To add: Most doctors won't take you on as a patient without insurance, so for every little sniffle you are likely to be taking them to the ER.

AKB090609 · April 2014

I see that you updated, but just another thing to think about. DD has only been sick once, but that one time resulted in a sick child visit, children's ER visit and a 5day PICU stay. Without insurance we would have owed a little less than $10,000. With insurance we paid $1030 out of pocket for co-pays and deductibles. Absolutely worth the cost of our insurance the additional cost sucks, but is worth it in my opinion especially now that we are having #2 and our insurance rate won't change at all.

chevronseven · April 2014

helloblueeyes said:
Of all the crazy parenting things i've heard people do in the first year, that might take the cake as the stupidest.

Really? I've heard much worse. Not vaccinating, for example. As you can see, I updated my post to reflect that the points raised in the thread changed my mind. I posted specifically because I thought it seemed risky and wanted to see what others thought. I'm glad I did!

kjskjs · April 2014

Not sure if it was mentioned but the baby being on insurance is also what covers any care needed right when they are born. Initial shots, time in the nursery, bloodwork, etc. It all goes on the baby's insurance not just yours. My DD was in the NICU for a week and it was 69000 billed to insurance. I would never want to risk that having to be paid out of pocket by not getting insurance.

SaranJonathan · April 2014

I know pp gave a lot of advice above. My DD in her first year had one hospitalization, one surgery and need PT for torticollis. Delivery was normal we could have never anticipated all the issues. I also work in a children's hospital and in the last year alone have worked with three infants with cancer. All of them have had months of hospital stays. Scary to think of what those hospital bills are.

honeybee434 · April 2014

I'm in a similar boat, to add this new baby to my insurance it will be about $350 more per month than what I'm paying now. There's just one standard cost for adding children on my plan, whether I add one or add 3, it's the same amount. I could go down a tier, but the cost difference wouldn't be worth the deductible/coinsurance difference since we plan on having another child within the next 2 years.

DH has private insurance (we actually got his most recent plan through the ACA site) that his employer reimburses him for (small business he manages, so they don't have a company policy, yet). I think our cheapest/best option is going to be either shopping through the ACA site (I think the top options with the most coverage were about $180/month) or looking for another private plan. If we end up having a second child, then we will probably look at adding them both to my plan unless private is cheaper then as well.

blacktie3 · April 2014

livelaughlove88 said:

Exactly what AutumnBonfire said. I would get rid of mine and my husbands coverage first before sacrificing my child's. Hopefully it doesn't come down to that for you, and you're able to find other ways to lower expenses. Is there maybe a lower tier you can drop down to? Maybe where you pay a lower premium and higher co-pays?
I already have that plan . It's super cheap for just me but adding a dependant is crazy. Sacrificing my own wouldn't really make a difference, it's only $10 for me. I'm feeling so down about this right now. We waited 3 years to have kids until we were at least kind of financially stable. Another year would have been better since by then DH will be done with school and working, but I got impatient and thought we'd be ok now. I didn't realize at the time how terrible my insurance is or how much it would be to add the baby to it, and now I feel like we're these irresponsible kids who are having a baby before we're ready.

Just have to deal with it. Can you cut a few things out of your budget to help with the $300? Cable TV, eating out, clip coupons, cheaper car, car pooling, ect? If you look there are probbly several things you can live with out, even little bit helps...it all adds up.

jcartz · April 2014

Glad you are researching other options! My & dd1's combined hospital bill was well over $20k for birth, 3 days there (total of 5 but 3 after birth), her going under the lights, vaccines, lactation consults, etc., etc. Afterwards she was still jaundiced so there were frequent pedi visits I addition to normal well visits... Then she started daycare so she got sick and then the ear infections started... And never ended. Multiple ent visits and tube surgery at 10 months... The list goes on.

Even with good coverage we paid well over $2k that first year and I don't even want to know what it would have been if we didn't have insurance!! I hope you can find a solution that works for you.

Allison546 · April 2014

Ditto to everything everyone else said. I had to pay a couple thousand out of pocket for DS's care in the hospital after he was born (routine care, no issues) and that was with insurance. The hospital bill alone could be exorbitant.

chevronseven · April 2014

blacktie3 said:

livelaughlove88 said:

nicoletteb said:
Exactly what AutumnBonfire said. I would get rid of mine and my husbands coverage first before sacrificing my child's. Hopefully it doesn't come down to that for you, and you're able to find other ways to lower expenses. Is there maybe a lower tier you can drop down to? Maybe where you pay a lower premium and higher co-pays?
I already have that plan . It's super cheap for just me but adding a dependant is crazy. Sacrificing my own wouldn't really make a difference, it's only $10 for me. I'm feeling so down about this right now. We waited 3 years to have kids until we were at least kind of financially stable. Another year would have been better since by then DH will be done with school and working, but I got impatient and thought we'd be ok now. I didn't realize at the time how terrible my insurance is or how much it would be to add the baby to it, and now I feel like we're these irresponsible kids who are having a baby before we're ready.

Just have to deal with it. Can you cut a few things out of your budget to help with the $300? Cable TV, eating out, clip coupons, cheaper car, car pooling, ect? If you look there are probbly several things you can live with out, even little bit helps...it all adds up.

I do appreciate the suggestion, but we are no strangers to living as cheaply as possible. All of our vehicles are paid off and we have only liability insurance, so can't cut that out. We only spend about $75 a week on groceries. It's student loan payments that are killer. And we had gone without cable for a long time and then got Direct TV when we thought we were a little better off than it turns out we are, but that's a contract so we can't cut it (although I'd be more than willing to). We also paid off all of our credit cards when I won money on a game show, but had to charge one of them right back up when out cat needed emergency surgery. That game show money is what's killing me...I know we were mostly responsible with it but we went overboard helping out family and friends instead of setting more aside for the baby and I can't help but be furious with myself. I mean it was a good chunk of change that was just handed to me and I can't reconcile that we're basically in the same immediate financial situation as before I got it, even though we paid stuff off. I know I would have spent it differently if I had known how the medical costs were going to be but I just had no idea how the system works. Didn't know how bad my insurance is or how expensive it would be to add a dependant. We did set some of my prize money aside into an IRA and some more into a college fund for the baby, and I would like to avoid it but worst case scenario we could dip into that. Shouldn't be an issue though because I looked into ACA plans and it told me right off that based on our monthly income we are eligible for Medicaid. I hate doing that because part of me is a little bit prideful about accepting government assistance and the other part of me feels like I'd be taking advantage when there's people who need it way more than we do, but I decided not to let either pride or humility stand in the way of my son's healthcare. And it will only be for a year until DH finishes school and goes active duty and then we'll have Tricare through the military.

Wow sorry I just wrote a damn novel about our financial situation! I'm really glad I posted this thread though. I think I knew it was a bad idea and needed people to talk me out of it with good reasons.

netsirk2013 · April 2014

Some people don't have a choice. We can't afford insurance & we make a couple hundred more than the medicaid limit. Try contacting the provider. They offer payment plans and special coverage if you qualify. In my state Obama care only gives one option that doesn't cover the majority of hospitals or providers plus it is far from affordable.

AMcLaws · April 2014

I'm going to have to call my insurance and see how much it's going to be to add this LO. I can't imagine it would be another $300/month. I only pay $300/month right now to cover our entire family. And that's for medical, dental, vision, life insurances, short/long term disabilities, Aflac, accidental death, and more.

BP607 · April 2014

@livelaughlove88

Call your student loan holders and ask if there is a cheaper payment plan, they want their money, so they will almost always help you out by lowering your payment. You can also go into forbearance for a little while if that might help you. It's not ideal, but it may help you until you get a little more cash-flow. Call them and explain your situation they will almost always find someway to help you out.

[Deleted User] · April 2014

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nola 1017 · April 2014

I'm a lawyer, and my law school loan payments (plus some undergrad) are f'ing ridiculous. Most companies will work with you. Income-based repayment may be a good option. Or interest-only payments. Or graduated payment plans - they start you off at a lower rate for 2 years or so, and then your payments increase a bit.

mamaloaf · April 2014

I would suggest you use the money you set aside for 'college savings' for the baby to pay the premiums, if it comes to that. You will have to pay a penalty to take they money back out of the IRA. You won't have a penalty or tax to pay if you just put this college money into a taxable account, which I assume you did since you couldn't have funded a 529 yet without a social security number.

zellatrix · April 2014

mana84 said:

I would suggest you use the money you set aside for 'college savings' for the baby to pay the premiums, if it comes to that. You will have to pay a penalty to take they money back out of the IRA. You won't have a penalty or tax to pay if you just put this college money into a taxable account, which I assume you did since you couldn't have funded a 529 yet without a social security number.

I am with you on this one. It is admirable to start saving money for the baby's college education, but not a necessity when you are struggling elsewhere. There are lots of options to get college paid for, but significantly less options to pay for healthcare.

Adding baby to insurance

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