Midwife or doctor?

bundleofjoy4iluvu · February 2018

I am currently uninsured. I have been trying to find health insurance in the state of Indiana. But apparently, I can't get insurance because it is a preexisting condition. So am I screwed? I'm so stressed out. Hospital said it will cost around $30,000 (no csection) they will give 30% off. Midwife said it will cost under $4,000 for everything but she doesn't do sections if I need one. Someone give me advice please! Tell me there is hope. We make to much to qualify for Mdwise Marketplace.

klpv415 · February 2018

Can you file as "indigent"? I've seen posters in hospitals about this but don't know the details. It may be worth looking into.

jengibre_zorro · February 2018

I think your options might vary by state....my cousin in IL was able to purchase maternity insurance after she found out she was pregnant through obamacare, and it covered almost all of her prenatal care. As far as the birth goes, i have awesome insurance and still owed like $6000. I was able to do a payment plan, which was helpful. Let me see if i can find the name for that policy my cousin bought.

Either way, you aren't screwed, you just have a few extra hoops to jump through...don't stress!

*Edit* She said she used CHiP. I would look into it to see if you qualify. Good luck!

tinattt23 · February 2018

I think the midwife vs OB decision is much bigger than an insurance issue. It’s two very different philosophies on care. You should pick which one you feel more comfortable with, not which is cheaper. I don’t know much about specific insurance plans other than that there are usually options available.

concreteayngel · February 2018

Have you tried enrolling in any subsidized insurance plans, like Medicaid? Here in Washington, I was shocked when my family qualified, I thought we made too much money.

doula-mama · February 2018

I don't know about the insurance issue (I'm Canadian, so the birth is covered for me either way, regardless of any complications)... but I do agree with @tinattt23 that there is such a huge philosophy difference between a midwife and an OB, that you really should let that drive your decision. I personally went with a midwife, because I prefer the idea of a more personalized care experience.

olivemomma · February 2018

Is the midwife part of a hospital group? If so, even if she doesn’t do c sections someone would be there to step in if need be. Regardless of your insurance they aren’t going to leave you hanging and will do what’s best for you and babies health. Also, many times you can get your payments reduced after the birth. We were able to do this with our first - we had good insurance but still owed like 5k out of pocket. My husband was a resident at the time and I was leaving my job to stay home with baby so that was a huge percentage of our yearly income. We wrote a letter to the hospital and spoke with their billing and got our out of pocket reduced to under 1k. There are always options

krgriffin26 · February 2018

We have places around here that are health groups for low income/uninsured moms to be. Our Planned Parenthood also refers moms out to these types of places. Ours around here are call CareNet and Texas Women's Center. Basically uninsured mom's do all their care through the group and then go on to give birth at local hospital. Because of the program, they pay very little for the birth and care.

krgriffin26 · February 2018

Um also, I had insurance and the day I went into labor, my hospital asked me to pay like $1000 up front. I told them I couldn't do that and I would contact their billing to set up payment plan. Can't really kick out a laboring mom. Anyways, It took like 2 years to pay off my daughter's birth.

krgriffin26 · February 2018

https://www.in.gov/medicaid/members/174.htm

lovesclimbing · February 2018

bundleofjoy3iluvu said:

I am currently uninsured. I have been trying to find health insurance in the state of Indiana. But apparently, I can't get insurance because it is a preexisting condition. So am I screwed? I'm so stressed out. Hospital said it will cost around $30,000 (no csection) they will give 30% off. Midwife said it will cost under $4,000 for everything but she doesn't do sections if I need one. Someone give me advice please! Tell me there is hope. We make to much to qualify for Mdwise Marketplace.

*Lurker*

This has so much more to it than cost. I had an out of hospital birth at a free standing birth center with midwives. I'm assuming your quote for a midwife is out of hospital? I can't imagine the price difference being that much for a hospital birth with a midwife. Yes, my birth was much much cheaper than a hospital.

Midwife-only births have regulations that you have to comply with. You can typically only have low risk births. C-sections can not be performed outside the hospital for good reason: it's a major surgery. Different states allow different things outside the hospital. Some states allow vbacs or breech births outside the hospital, but my state (Alaska) doesn't. If you need an induction due to unmanaged gestational diabetes or cholestasis or any number of other things, you cannot have that outside the hospital.

You can't just decide "oh I'm going to have a midwife," period, end of story. Midwives are governed by the laws on their state, and if those laws aren't followed, they can get their certifications yanked and be unemployable. You can start your prenatal care with a midwife, but if you become high risk, you will be transferred to a hospital for the birth.

It's great to plan for a midwife birth, I did and had one. And if you are low risk, odds are good you won't have any complications requiring a hospital. But you have to be prepared for the possibility you might have to be transferred to a hospital, and you will have all those hospital costs.

jengibre_zorro · February 2018

^^wss. I planned for a midwife birth and did NOT end up having one.

BabyRobbinsAdventure · February 2018

Just chiming in to say if this is your first baby, I would highly suggest that you give birth in a hospital. Whether you use a midwife or doctor is really based on the birthing philosophy and experience you want. I am just always afraid of complications that can happen during labor or after birth that could compromise mama or baby’s life.

This comes from personal experience of having PPH with my daughter and lost almost half my blood in a very short amount of time. If I had to be transferred from somewhere to go to a hospital I would not have survived. I just urge FTMs to be in a hospital setting.
Not to scare you, but I was considered low risk and there was no warning that could have predicted what happened.

cdepperschmidt · February 2018

I completely agree with others. Usually when we discuss the midwife verses doctor it’s more of a philosophical conversation. The decision is more based on your birth plan. Med free verses epidural. Low intervention verses close monitoring. Water birth? Home birth? Hospital? Birthing center? Keep researching there are insurance options out there for you.

DunkinDecaf · February 2018

I feel strongly about this and would say dr over midwife, but as PPs have said, it’s a very personal choice. I obviously understand why you’re worrying about the cost but I would agree that you should think through the philosophies, safety etc before making your choice.

edited bc holy run on sentence, Batman

nayyohme · February 2018

This is my first and I didn't have a preference. I just went with what's local and more convenient because it's 5 minutes from my house and work. They consider themselves midwives but they do have MDs on staff, I was told I will meet all the midwives throughout my pregnancy and when I give birth whoever is on call will deliver at the hospital. Unfortunately I know nothing in terms of cost

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