Question About Having Baby with Poor Health Insurance

The state of Illinois has an all kids covered policy, and the kid care program covers pregnant mothers. this is something you might want to look into.

J.

This may sound horrible, but maybe you and your husband aren't ready for another child, financially. I know health insurance shouldn't be the reason you don't have a another child, but the reality is the estimate cost of having a child from birth to age 18 is $450k. So, money does matter. Plus, if you can't afford the hospital bills and other financial obligations, think of the stress it could put on your marriage and the child you already have. Children are amazing about picking up on parent's stress. Also, if you are worried about having to pay for the costs, you could have some of the same issues, or new ones w/this pregnancy. Stress does a lot of things to a body. I guess what I am saying is instead of figuring out a way to have another child right now, why not get your family in a stable situation with the health insurance and then work on the child. A year or two isn't that long, but it could mean the world of difference in you marriage, health and happiness of the family you already have.

Have you checked into qualifying for Sooner Care?? I am not one to push "state plans" but the care that you get is better than having most insurance! Seriously. If you don't qualify for it, you can negiotiate your rates with the hospital, and with most of the OB's in town...in other words, get on a good individual insurance plan that will cover you and baby after the birth (I can help you out with this) and do not add maternity benefits to it as these are very expensive and not worth it. Then just pay a "cash rate" for your OB and delivery...you do not have to pay the hospital portion all at once. Call them up after the delivery, after you receive your bill, tell them you are paying cash and what rate they will give you for that (usually is knocks like 40% off). then you set up a monthly payment plan (they don't care how much you pay per month as long as it is something). If you would like info on a good individual insurance plan that is affordable, give me a call. You have to have insurance in place (if you decide to switch off of what you currently have) before you get pregnant though. My number is ###-###-####...my name is J..

Ok well I know from experience that the good old Governor of IL has a new Kid Care program and all pregnant women and children will get the care needed. He is the catch you have to not have any insurance and then go apply for the medical card. I didnt know this but 2 years ago I was working for a temp agency and had crappy ins. so I dropped my ins. and went in and told DHS that I couldnt get insuracne since through a temp agency and I was pregnant. I had to prove it which is just getting a test at Planned Parenthood and it is like $30.00 which is crazy but hey they covered everything all I had was $2.00 copay for all my visits and they covered everything at 100%. I lost the baby and they even covered the surgery I had to have after I had lost the baby. So this is a good idea for covereage. Best of luck.

Kristy

When I had my second baby, we had NO maternity insurance which sounds a little different from your situation. But we panicked big time (unplanned pregnancy). But we contacted the hospital and they worked a cash deal with us. In the end it was cheaper than paying the premiums and the out of pockets.

If I would have had complications, our regular insurance would have kicked in.

Just a thought, have you tried checking on private insurance? I know Blue Cross and Blue Shield offers insurance to individuals. I'm not sure of te price or how good the coverage is, but if you personally have good health you should be able to get a pretty good rate for just youself on the plan.

HI E.! Sounds like you have gotten some great advice back! I am currently employed in the insurance industry - even so, i can relate. We are due in Novemeber and I have a $2000 deductible to pay. Some of the ladies made great points about getting a different job with better benefits - if that is an option for you - a group plan would probably be the best option. Because as long as it is GROUP health insurance you can not be denied medical coverage for a pregnancy even if you are already pregnant when you get on the plan. However, someone mentioned an Individual policy with BCBS or another provider. Yes that could be an option but keep in mind that to my knowledge - there would be a 1 year waiting period before any maternity benfits would begin to be covered. Also, as an individual - you will go thru underwriting and the company has a right to deny coverage (or give you a much higher rate) for a health condition or an area you had challenge (delivery). Getting ahold of the Missouri Dept of Social Services is a good idea though, to see if you qualify for Medicaid... maybe it would be an option. Also checking with the hosp or Dr to work with you sounded like a plan. I hope that some of these ideas you have been sent will be helpful to and your family. Best wishes E.!
A.

I really wish I could respond to this question with "Look for a direct entry midwife! They provide a very high quality of care at much lower cost than obstetricians." Unfortunately, direct entry midwives are not allowed by law to practice in Missouri. We're working to change that, so hopefully next year women with low-risk pregnancies will have the safe, much cheaper option of giving birth with a midwife at home or at a birth center.
(Anyone who wants to help, visit http://www.friendsofmomidwives.org )

I sell individual health insurance direct at Blue Cross Blue Shield. We have great maternity benefits, but there is a 365 day waiting period on it. It might be something to look into.

This is a tough situation but you are smart to think about it first. I do not think, unless you qualify financially, that you can get state medical insurance but I could be wrong so it is definitely worth checking into. If you cannot do that, how much would you have to pay monthly to get your husband's work insurance....I imagine less than $7500....is there any way you can manage that? Getting insurance individually from a company (I've done this before) is about $400-600 a month with maternity coverage....so maybe getting on your husbands (I bet) would be less?
If neither one of those are options, can you change jobs or can your husband? NO one should have to do all this but $7500 is an awful lot to pay when medical insurance can cover it all. On the other hand, I am a single and managed a $26k adoption on my own in spite of losing my job in the middle of it so sometimes life just works out.
Best to you!
L.

Have you tried applying for Medicaid? I don't know if you'd be approved or not, but it couldn't hurt to try. I was on Medicaid for the birth of my last son, and my final bill was $200. It's worth a shot if you haven't explored that option. Just go to your local SRS office. Good luck!

I cannot believe the amount of women who are suggesting you get state insurance, or better yet, to lie so you can. I worked two jobs while expecting my son, rather than lie or manipulate the state requirements. There are lots of us out here who do what they need to in order to have more children, like work a second job for a while, change jobs, pay in advance while still on birth control, etc. I am all too aware of the terrible state of medical care and insurance in this country, but that still does not make taking advantage of taxpayers right. Most of us who pay taxes (because we have jobs) never get the benefits we are paying for) would like to see a decline in the number of people who use these services so we can pay less, not more, as the years drag on.

I would suggest finding a new permanent job with better benefits, whether for pregnancy needs or other problems, such as illness, injury or disease. Where I work (one of the local hospitals), the total we pay for the entire maternity period including delivery is $150.00. For emergencies or illness, our payment is $100 as long as we follow some easy rules. There are some great places to work out there with much better benefits than you are getting now, and for the financial sake of your family, you should consider it a little more seriously. Good luck!

I would agree with everyone that says the kidcare, family care idea. There is a site u can go to and find a all kids agent that can help u find out the paperwork so u don't have to go down to the DHS office and sit for god knows how long. The website is www.allkidscovered.com. I went to a neighborhood meeting a few weeks ago and they had a lady come and speak to us about the program and even if you have insurance you can still qualify for this program so that's probably your best shot.

Depending on who your doctor is and where you deliver you might be able to do a pre-pay maternity plan which is based on when you get the pre-payment made and how long you stay. I work for a large metro hospital and we always do pre-pay maternity plans. Just ask your doctor what theirs would be and then call the hospital and ask them about a payment plan. If you want to let me know which hospital you are delivering at I can give you info on what the plan might be.

My sister had a similar situation a few years ago. She ended up getting on Soonercare, and paid absolutely nothing for the entire pregnancy and delivery. A family of three can earn up to $2353.00 gross income a month or $28,236 gross income (before taxes) a year and still be eligible. If you think you may qualify, contact your local DHS office.

E.,

I just wanted to mention AFLAC. My best friend got supplimental insurance through that company to help with medical bills and maternity leave. Her insurance at the time she was expecting her son was not great either. However, I think you have to apply for the insurance before you get pregnant. The plan was not very expensive and it kicked in to cover mendical bills not covered by their primary insurace carrier. It might give you some peace of mind if you are really worried.

Best wishes,
J.

I would suggest doing cash as well... it is cheaper. The hospital gives discounts if you go in not using your insurance.

Good Luck

Have you considered a midwife? Or maybe some help from the state? I know it is embaressing, but depending on your income, they could pick up the difference of what your insurance does not pay.....

If you do not think there will be any complications, or if you think you could make it with out drugs, a midwife could he better for you.

Please repond and tell me what you think.

the health department has a WIC program for free exams and give coupons for food to keep you healthy and then provise the baby with the milk and foods they eat util kindergarten
then gain, you have public assistane. they should be happy to not pay the whole bill check into a birth mother avaiolable and maybe have it at home

E., call a qualified health insurance agent. They will know all the programs available to you. Good luck!

http://www.americanpregnancy.org/planningandpreparing/aff...

Its so much easier just to send you here, it outlines alot of different services available, insurance geared toward people in your situation and sliding scale fees...allot of hospitals and doctors offer services based on your income, you just have to approach them.

We had about $2500 in bills after our insurance. Since I wasn't working right away, we didn't have the money for that either. We took out a credit card with 0% interest for a year and took the year to pay it off. While I'm not really a proponent of credit cards, it really helped us in this situation. We were able to use taxes, bonuses, etc. to pay it off without the interest. It is just a thought. Best of luck!

I do not know if this is still available or not and how you would feel about not using your doc but St. John's used to have and still might have a maternity clinic I know a couple years ago my sister went there and it was only like $500 for all expenses she had no insurance at the time.

While i was pregnant I had no insurance so i ended up on state aid. they are actually quite helpful when you consider it .. you may not be eligible for some benefits especially with you and your husband working but it is something to consider they told me if i pay a small fee every month that we could use it .. it wouldnt hurt to try and apply for it

Depending on how much income your family makes... meaning if you make less than a certain amount for the size of your family you may be able to supplement it with public aid. With my pregnancy I used both my regular insurance and public aid... it was a life saver and am doing it for my current pregnancy also. I hope that helps somewhat.

What I would suggest is going ahead... you can always look into making payments to your doctor before you even deliver (pay each month through your nine months) and you can always work out payments with all the bills. Just pay what you can each time you are billed and they can't really do anything. Most companies are willing to work with you on payments, as long as you are willing to pay SOMETHING every month. Good luck. I know what you are going through b/c I am going to be delivering in January/Feb.!! :)

I would recommend going to your local public aid office and get on a medical card. you have to be pregnant to get it but it will cover everything and I do mean everything. My second child was in the NICU for 6 weeks and that is covered. The only downfall in having a medical card is that you have to really search for a good doctor. There are a lot who do not take the med card. If your OB that you had for the first one does not take it and you are in the bloomington/Normal area, Dr. Gratkins takes it and he is AWESOME!! I had him for both of my pregnancies. I would recommend him to anyone! Good Luck!