Maternity insurance for self employed

Posted on April 5, 2012 by LisaQueen

If you are self-employed and planning to have a child there are some insurance companies that offer maternity health plans. All you have to do is get some free time to really shop for  health insurance companies that can give you a better deal. Out of the pocket expenditures for a normal delivery with no complications could cost roughly $10,000 and that is quite a huge burden if you have a small business and somehow you will also need to consider unexpected financial impediments that could arise during the course of pregnancy. As long as you are not conceiving yet, alternatives are manageable to your end in terms of maternity insurance plans.  As you search for insurance providers the internet has a broad spectrum for testimonials from satisfied clients regarding health plan benefits and the website for Utah maternity has positive comments on how as insurance plan has satisfied their needs. On the other hand, some insurance companies would really dig deep in accumulating information about an applicant’s health history and the condition of his business, just to make sure it will not be a “bottleneck” their earnings. Insurance companies are also accused of “gaming” the system. Once you are enrolled in a certain plan  and you happen to have complications or a severe illness that you somehow forgot to mention during the assessment process, these insurance providers can easily revoke your plan and leave you in a financial devastation.

Nevertheless, if the situation deprives one of maternal insurance plan while self employed, local health department can help regarding the appropriate options on how to avail one. The cash pay basis can also be an option wherein  a couple can ask the hospital about the price for delivery and could negotiate the payments down to a package deal. Another option is to get a group health insurance. The small group can concise an employer and 2 employees, and from here you can search for maternity plans that you can hook with the group health insurance.

MSA (Medical Savings Account) is ideal for self-employed individuals wherein their tax-deferred deposits can be diverted to medical savings, and from there, it can be used to shop for the right insurance that can cover maternal expenses during conception. New York has an ultimately compromising offers regarding health insurances that can suffice various medical needs. From individual, group and down to a low income generating families can avail such assistance. Furthermore, the government is always ready to provide help in line with private sectors if the case is getting to be hopeless for a couple who is at the brink of facing financial risks in bridging to a solution for a pregnancy which is already at hand. Seek local government offices for sufficient information that can help you have the right option and the right choice.

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Pregnant and No Pregnancy Health Insurance: Now what?

Posted on March 28, 2012 by MaryAnderson

One of the pressures faced by pregnant women anywhere in the world today, especially in the United States where healthcare system is complex, is the lack of health insurance with maternity coverage during pregnancy. Ideally, pregnant women should have health insurance coverage including maternity benefits long before the baby is conceived. Under these circumstances, one is assured of enjoying the maternity benefits that come with the health insurance plan availed  from doctor’s visit to nutritious supplemental needs to child birth up to postnatal care. If the correct health insurance plan is selected, there is no need for too much worrying on the financial implications of one’s pregnancy.

Pregnant but without Health Insurance

Certain complications on health insurance options are caused by a woman’s pregnancy. Aside from the fact that pregnancy entails costly medical services (which often times affect the insurance provider’s claims exposure), there are federal laws that prohibit insurance providers from including pregnancy in the list of preexisting conditions. This means that insurance providers are to honor and respect the maternity benefits specified in the health insurance plan even if the pregnant woman changes health plans while pregnant. Insurers cannot deny the pregnancy claims specified in the health insurance plan.

So if one becomes pregnant at a time when no health insurance is availed yet, what options can the pregnant woman take?  Let’s look at the available options under the scenarios below :

  • if the pregnant woman without any health insurance plan at the time of pregnancy,  happens to land a new job which provides for a health insurance, the new health insurance will not have to take effect and instead sit out a waiting period. In this case the pregnant woman has to shell out some money to pay for her pregnancy expenses.
  • if the pregnant woman has a group health insurance plan at the time of pregnancy and change jobs with the new job giving a new group health insurance plan which has a one month eligibility period, the insurance provider is not compelled to cover the pregnancy until the plan is in full effect, meaning after the one month waiting period. Again in this case, the early stages of pregnancy will be paid from personal fund until after the waiting period is over. This is a protection provided for by HIPAA to employees switching jobs.

Chances are, the pregnant woman may not be able to comply with any of the above options for lack of financial preparedness. What happens to a low-income pregnant woman  who has not planned on getting pregnant but did, has no insurance and cannot afford to have one? Can the government offer some assistance to her in terms of medical benefits?

The answer is yes, fortunately. The government has allocated some funds for each state to make sure that uninsured pregnant women will be looked after in terms of their pregnancy and medical needs. About one third of the 13% uninsured pregnant women in the US are eligible for state-funded health insurance programs. We’ve heard about Medicaid which is available in all states. There’s also WIC (Women, Infant and Children). Medi-Cal is California-based government-funded insurance program for uninsured pregnant women.

Additionally, uninsured pregnant women may seek assistance from various organizations like American Pregnancy Association, Ameri-Plan, etc. These organizations are created with one common goal – and that is to offer healthcare coverage for uninsured pregnant women. Eligibility requirements and criteria will vary from one state or organization to another. But the important thing is, the stressed-out pregnant woman will no longer be that much worried about her condition and the expenses that go with it. The financial stress is somehow lifted and there will be time now to enjoy the pregnancy.

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Pregnancy Health Insurance with Maternity Coverage

Posted on March 28, 2012 by MaryAnderson

In the United States alone, statistics tell us that there are about 13% of women who gets pregnant each year without any health insurance, whether covering maternity benefits or otherwise. This could be attributed to the complexity and intrinsic details accompanying every health insurance plan. So, this is the sad fact that has been the center of political discussions lately. The government should be able to bridge the gap between the insurance provider’s requirements for eligibility and the insured’s capability to pay the monthly premiums.

There are two things satisfied by a health insurance :  having access to medical care and making health care affordable. When faced with an illness, getting good quality medical care becomes overly difficult because of the spiralling costs of treatment, medical procedures, check-up, etc.. Without any health insurance plan, one will struggle with the financial impact of each and every medical service needed.

Individual and Group Health Insurance Plans

Individual Health Insurance Plans are offered for individuals who do not have employer-based health insurance.  This insurance will manage an individual’s health related needs from doctor’s visits to hospitalization to recovery. The health benefits or coverage will be largely dependent on an individual’s health or medical requirements. This normally costs more for the individual as the coverage may be customized to the needs of the insured.

Group Health Insurance Plans, on the other hand, are the medical care plans provided by employers to their employees as part of their work benefits and compensation package. Healthier employees mean healthier business for the employer. And since employers are mandated by law to provide health benefits through health insurance plans to all its employees, a good majority of Americans are covered through this type of insurance. And since the employers carry the bulk of payment, the coverage under this plans are somewhat restricted or limited.

Maternity Coverage

As mentioned earlier 13% of pregnant women in the US are not insured. This means they have no access to good quality health care and are oftentimes availing state-funded insurance programs to somehow help alleviate the costly pregnancy expenses, especially if their economic status render them incapable of shelling out money to pay for the insurance plans.

However, there are health insurance plans which do cover and include maternity benefits. Finding the insurance provider who offers this is a bit tricky as they have different conditions and parameters for this inclusion. Let’s summarize some of these conditions :

  •  An existing individual health insurance may be attached with a maternity coverage rider. This is allowing additional coverage for maternity benefits at an extra cost
  • An existing group health insurance plan may be requested for a maternity coverage supplement. The additional costs will be on the employee’s account
  • Maternity coverage rider whether attached to an individual or group health insurance plan may require specific waiting period
  • Insurance providers who offer maternity rider without waiting period may opt to increase additional insurance premiums for the desired additional coverage
  • Maternity coverage rider also have conditions on not being pregnant at the time of getting the coverage. Otherwise, there would be considerable add-on to the premiums if already pregnant women are still accepted for coverage

It will take more than these limited information to be able to determine what available maternity coverage options offer the best deal. The best way would be to check every insurance plan, provider, state laws, etc., to make sure that the best and most affordable maternity coverage will be selected.

Alternatively, pregnant women may turn to the government for support. Government-funded insurance programs such as Medicaid, COBRA, WIC, American Pregnancy Organization and Ameriplan to name a few. All of them were created and are operating with one common objective, and that is, to provide assistance and support to pregnant women who, unfortunately do not have any health insurance plan.

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