no insurance...will this affect my prenatal care?

lauraxtrom · March 2016

This is my first pregnancy. Im 19 weeks and next week I am scheduled to have my first ultrasound and find out baby's gender! My fiance and I are both very excited. We recently had some hard times, we were both laid off from our jobs and I was unable to pay my health insurance. I recently started a new job and can get insurance thru them but it will not kick in until may. So, my question is, when i go to my next appt and if it comes up that I am not currently insured, will they still see me and just send me a bill?

smilormarie · March 2016

I have corporate insurance because both my husband and I are employed full time in successful global companies and I still have to pay about $99 per visit up until delivery. They say that way I won't get a 'huge' bill at the end. But either way, it will probably end up about the same for you. What we pay in our monthly premiums plus my $99 monthly bill for pre payment of delivery you may end up getting a better deal if they offer you OPP discount. I've realized our fancy BCBS PPO is probably glorified catastrophic insurance coverage basically. :-/

Curls919 · March 2016

I'd imagine so. You can always call and tell them the situation. They may offer payment options or discounts since you'll be paying OOP for the next two months.

gadzooks_3 · March 2016

Have you looked into COBRA for those few months? Having a gap in coverage could be quite expensive right now.

Your OB may choose to have you pay OOP upfront for your appointments.

AmandaG225 · March 2016

You should be alright. Just plan on paying a pretty good chunk of money at each appt until your insurance kicks in.

MSUgrad12 · March 2016

Have you looked into getting insurance through the state temporarily? If you are able to do this, all of your prenatal care AND your birth will be paid for.

Cshau · March 2016

I didn't have insurance for one month while my husband switched jobs. It's probably different at every office, but I paid $80 out of pocket for a regular appointment.
I would think if the cost was really a concern for you, you could have a repayment plan set up.

SkiChic626 · March 2016

Even though your insurance doesn't stay until May, will it be retroactive? You may want to inquire about that, could make a big difference. I would also highly recommend looking into COBRA until your new insurance is in place, it's expensive but well worth it to be covered in case anything happens.

kattyleigh · March 2016

No it won't affect anything. In fact you might find it's cheaper to pay out of pocket. I didn't have insurance until March 1st because of a paperwork error. It was no biggie.

charmedlifex3 · March 2016

Also, regarding the US - My doctor recommended getting the anatomy US between 20 and 26 weeks. Since this is a rather expensive procedure alone, I might ask my doctor about delaying it until may 1, if she thinks that would be safe. Your OBGYN would be the one to make that call, but I know my first US was a couple grand.

lilpinky7878 · March 2016

I was in the same boat b4.... but I'm still laid off. As said b4 you can see about corba with that depending on what state u live in you can get help to pay for it. I'm in NJ and they make sure pregnant ladies get to the doctor. Some insurance might by retroactive, but as I learned the hard way some don't. Definitely do some research on the state. Ps
u might get more help then you know since technical your still single.

bearsandbeets7 · March 2016

I had to pay for the first few appointments out of pocket. DH just started a new job in December so we were waiting for the new insurance to kick in. For my first ultrasound I had to pay 350 out of pocket and then my appointments were 65 until the insurance. Although now I'm having to pay 345 dollars a month until June for the ob payment. I miss the 65 at each appointment.

katie121209 · March 2016

Have you looked at the Marketplace? We got insurance for a few months through it in a similar situation.

lauraxtrom · March 2016

Thanks everyone. Im in minnesota if that helps. We got behind on rent and all our bills so Im pretty broke..would they have me pay at the appt? Or would i just get something sent to me after?

tmk0325 · March 2016

@lauraxtrom
You should apply through the healthcare.gov website and see what happens, it's not open enrollment time, however they will forward to your state first to see if you qualify for your state's insurance. I'm in WI and that is what they did to me first. I'm not quite sure what MN has, but it is worth a shot to see if you can get covered that way. As for your hospital, I would talk to them and ask for information on payment plans and see what they have. In most cases they will bill you for your services after the visit. Also, as other's said the 20 week appointment with the ultrasound can be rather expensive, so you might want to call and find out an approximation of the costs before you go. Another thing if you get on your states insurance, a lot of time they will backdate the coverage if you meet the qualifications.

ThisisNumber3 · March 2016

lauraxtrom said:

Thanks everyone. Im in minnesota if that helps. We got behind on rent and all our bills so Im pretty broke..would they have me pay at the appt? Or would i just get something sent to me after?

There is a good chance they will require payment at the time of service. So I would call to inquire. Like others said maybe you can do just a general appointment now and delay any scans.

charmedlifex3 · March 2016

You may also be able to set up a payment plan, ahead of time. I did this with a surgery a few years ago. They ask you to pay a fairly minimal amount, until it's paid off. They base it off your total bill, and off your income. The hospital wanted me to pay $50 / mo to pay of a $4k balance (AFTER insurance. Ugh) They don't charge any interest, and as long as you pay what they say you need to/can don't send it to collections even if it takes years to pay off. I ended up being able to move home with my folks, and pay it off in a couple months, in lieu of paying rent. (Yay for being 22, with nobody depending on me but a cat... lol)

Jenniferk08 · March 2016

I would get social services ASAP with proof of pregnancy and see if you can get on Medicaid for now.

lauraxtrom · March 2016

I'm frustrated too, because I tried to get on MnSure during the open enrollment and every time I tried registering online it would say "something went wrong...we were unable to verify your identity" and when I would call I would be on hold for an hour before I finally gave up. I saw on reviews that some people would be put on hold for 6 hours before anyone answered. What can I use for proof of pregnancy? I havent had any ultrasounds yet and at my appointments they never gave me any papers or anything. I'm going to the county office tomorrow and hopefully can get things figured out. Its causing anxiety too, because not only am I soo stressed with bills, my living situation, finances...I've been SOO excited for this baby and to be able to see an ultrasound and find out the gender and I am so scared of being turned away.

tmk0325 · March 2016

@lauraxtrom can you go to family planning or planned parenthood and see if they can confirm the pregnancy for you to give you proof?

lilpinky7878 · March 2016

I agree with @Jenniferk08 I had to do that when I had none... also tell them that it's a medical emergency to speed up the process. Lastly talk to your doctor see about what options you have. I was going loose mine and my doctor asked if I can see the high risk doctor b4 it ran out. Don't stress I know it's hard but everything will work out

gadzooks_3 · March 2016

lauraxtrom said:

I'm frustrated too, because I tried to get on MnSure during the open enrollment and every time I tried registering online it would say "something went wrong...we were unable to verify your identity" and when I would call I would be on hold for an hour before I finally gave up. I saw on reviews that some people would be put on hold for 6 hours before anyone answered. What can I use for proof of pregnancy? I havent had any ultrasounds yet and at my appointments they never gave me any papers or anything. I'm going to the county office tomorrow and hopefully can get things figured out. Its causing anxiety too, because not only am I soo stressed with bills, my living situation, finances...I've been SOO excited for this baby and to be able to see an ultrasound and find out the gender and I am so scared of being turned away.

I hope you can have another go at the marketplace. Losing your insurance is usually considered a qualifying event so even if you are outside of open enrollment you may qualify. I hope someone at county can help, you may qualify for WIC.

If you want to know for cerain if you will have to pay uo front or be billed, I would just call the doctor and ask. Better than finding out on the spot.

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