Telling your insurance/job

dckateh · May 2016

Hi Guys,
So I just saw the delivery costs discussion which got me thinking. Do you have to alert insurance separately/formally or do they just take the hint when you're putting in claims for prenatal visits? Also, when do you need to let your work HR know? TIA!

DiFazette · May 2016

Oh they (insurance) know ASAP! Last PG I had a phone call from the insurance company about my resources within a week of my first OB appt.

Work wise, that's your call depending on the environment. I think most people disclose 2nd tri due to not being able to make excuses for dr appointments any longer, plus you'll start showing. This one is more personal/circumstantial.

princesslockness · May 2016

I only ever alerted insurance when L was born. I think they just get the hint when you have 15-20 OB visits.

As for HR, I am a teacher and just told my principal's both time when I would need to start regularly leaving work to have my appointments.

Kacie209 · May 2016

Not sure about insurance alerts, but guessing once they see prenatal appointments come in... they know something is up.

I plan on telling my manager the week of my first appointment (June 3). A week after my appointment, he's actually gone for his wedding/honeymoon for the 3 weeks following, so by the time he's back (mid-July)... I'll probably be showing so that will make him wonder. I remember him asking me about kids IMMEDIATELY after we got married (1.5 years ago), ha.

He's very lenient with scheduling appointments, leaving early for things, etc. so it won't be an issue for when my appointments are. Plus, I rarely miss work compared to some of my peers, so he knows he has nothing to worry about with me missing any time.

leksiL · May 2016

At my company you have 30 days after the birth to add baby to your health insurance. I'm not aware of anything that requires you to tell them you are pregnant, but every insurance company is different.

I told my boss once symptoms started affecting my job performance and I started to refuse to travel to FL due to Zika. He was great and gave me a hug. Every work situation is different too.

cgss11 · May 2016

I didn't tell my insurance, but I assume they know. Baby will be added to DH's insurance, I need to remind him to look into that.

I told a few coworkers early on because I've been sick, but told my Principal this past week. I had planned to wait until the last week of school, but it just kinda came out in a lull in our conversation lol.

phoenix870509 · May 2016

We're using insurance through DH's job since his is better than mine. He's already told his HR/insurance person, she is so excited. I absolutely love her

I had to tell my boss just before my first appointment because I had MS from hell (turns out it was a stomach virus on top of everything). He's so super supportive about everything. Deadline for all my work is end of business day, unless he needs it at a specific time, and I can take as much time as I need for appointments. Since I work from home I can hide this as long as I want, but I did tell my counterpart because we did work together before moving to home offices and she knows how long we've been TTC. I also told my team lead that reports to us and works in the main office, just in case I need him to step in if I can't. I'll have to talk to my HR about maternity leave.

penelope4612 · May 2016

I'm so jealous that you all have bosses that are excited for you. I kind of dread telling mine. Everyone will be nice about it but someone is going to have to cover for me while I'm gone. At least 3 different women have been out in the past 2 years for maternity leave so I'm not the only one at least.

Gizmo1231 · May 2016

I'm not telling my boss until end of June maybe end of July. I can't stand her and won't physically see her until then so that all works out. However, I am friends with co-workers on FB and worry if I announce before then that they will spill the beans so.... Who knows.

princesslockness · May 2016

@Gizmo1231 just make the post so only your friends, minus the coworker, can see. Its pretty simple to do.

Gizmo1231 · May 2016

@Kate08Young I didn't even think of that. Genius!

COgirl29 · May 2016

I think telling your work is totally dependent on your actual situation. I ended up being fired for being pregnant a few weeks after I told my boss, so I wish I would have waited longer so I had more time in my job to save money before the baby came! (For my daughter)

dckateh · May 2016

Thank you all for your help! My boss actually knows already. We were discussing my mid-year review and he mentioned that we don't get in replacements for people who go on extended leave... which means he would be the only one to take over my 3-5 story times each week. I asked about it "hypothetically" and then wasn't drinking at a big post-work event so he figured it out. He's totally supportive, but our HR is notoriously terrible.

dmontgo · May 2016

I work from home so my situation is a little different since I rarely talk to my boss, but I'll probably casually mention it...eventually. In theory since baby will be in December, I could take a month of vacation around that time and no one would think twice about it. I've been considering just doing that, but we'll see.

princesslockness · May 2016

COgirl29 said:

I think telling your work is totally dependent on your actual situation. I ended up being fired for being pregnant a few weeks after I told my boss, so I wish I would have waited longer so I had more time in my job to save money before the baby came! (For my daughter)

Unless your job is only doing things dangerous to you or baby. Or you are unable to preform the requirements with reasonable accommodations, that is ILLEGAL.

DiFazette · May 2016

COgirl29 said:

I think telling your work is totally dependent on your actual situation. I ended up being fired for being pregnant a few weeks after I told my boss, so I wish I would have waited longer so I had more time in my job to save money before the baby came! (For my daughter)

@COgirl29

Did you have a job that the requirements were not able to be met while pregnant?

leksiL · May 2016

Yep illegal!! Here's the wiki version: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pregnancy_Discrimination_Act

eta: unless a company of 15 or less. Sad.

silverfrost · May 2016

My boss was one of the first people I told. I am a licensed vet tech, so I take x-rays, monitor anesthesia, use lots of crazy tough chemicals to clean, administer different types of injectable drugs/vaccines, dispense a variety of medications.... So I told my boss to kind of say, "Hey, I need to be super, super careful now!" I will tell the rest of my colleagues when I'm ready, but I definitely had to tell the guy in charge so he'd understand why I'd be stepping out of certain situations.

COgirl29 · May 2016

DiFazette said:

COgirl29 said:

I think telling your work is totally dependent on your actual situation. I ended up being fired for being pregnant a few weeks after I told my boss, so I wish I would have waited longer so I had more time in my job to save money before the baby came! (For my daughter)

@COgirl29

Did you have a job that the requirements were not able to be met while pregnant?

@Kate08Young and @DiFazette - well, yes, very illegal. No, I could very well do my job while pregnant. Only explanation was that I wasn't performing my job well (which isn't true, I was performing just as well as the prior years when I was promoted 3 times).

I spent the next 1.5 years working with an attorney and was able to at least get unemployment that my former employer fought, and filed a claim with the EEOC, but decided not to move forward with the lawsuit because it would have taken another 2 years and I just didn't have it in me emotionally at that point.

Telling your insurance/job

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