Our Health Insurance Doesn't Cover Maternity Costs . . .

Updated on June 19, 2007
K.O. asks from Warren, MI
22 answers

Help! My husband and I are independent contractors and we have individual Blue Cross insurance. This insurance doesn't cover maternity. I've searched around for other insurance plans and the cost for extra maternity coverage is well over $300/month and you have to have it for one year before conception. Someone mentioned talking to OB GYN's and hospitals about working out a deal if you are a cash patient. Has anyone done this and which hospitals and doctor's do you recommend? Thanks!

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So What Happened?

Thanks for all of the quick responses! I really appreciate it. I will definitely look into Medicaid, working out a deal with a particular hospital, and home delivery. I'll keep you posted on how it all works out. Thanks again!
K.

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J.C.

answers from Detroit on

Hi K., I was interested to know where you live? I work at Garden City Hospital, and we have a Women's Center Clinic, for women with no coverage. Let me know, so I can get you the info. J. C.

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W.P.

answers from Detroit on

Many low risk women in this situation choose to give birth at home, too. It is not only qite affordable, the care you receive is far superior to the 15 minute appointments you might get at the hospital based program. Check out the research that the Midwives Alliance of North America has done on its safety. www.MANA.org www.michiganmidwife.com www.birthnetwork.org

1 mom found this helpful
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J.F.

answers from Grand Rapids on

Hi K.,
We also have independent insurance. We opted out of the pregnancy rider because it is so expensive and didn't know if we were going to use it. However, I did come across www.maternitycard.com . My insurance guy checked it out and said that it is legitimate! All the info is on the website. I believe all that they do is negoitiate with OB's and hospitals similar to what insurance companies do. So they are a different middle man so to speak. They were talked about on different national news channels too. Check it out. I also talked with my OB and asked her about cash discounts for services. She said her cash discount was about 1/2 the actual costs. I haven't talked to the hospital. According to my plan, routine care is not covered, but if any emergency situation should arrise while pregnant, than it is covered. Try getting the specifics on that from BCBS. I hope that helps! J.

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T.S.

answers from Detroit on

My sister's best friend had this same problem. She went to Genesys Hospital and they had a plan that she only paid $1,000.00 and she would go to the hospital for all of her appt. and have the baby there. The only problem is you see who ever is there I guess. She did not have any problems though and she has had three children this way. Hope this helps.

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R.K.

answers from Detroit on

I know that Beaumont in Royal Oak does this. I had a plan with them. I just told them what I could pay a month after they reduced the price of the teatment for me. I hope this helps you and good luck.

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L.K.

answers from Detroit on

HI K.,

Those ladies are 100% right. My daughter just had a baby three weeks ago.. go to your local FIA office and apply for medicaid. Whoever you speak to will tell you about it, what you need to do, what it covers for you and your newborn (if they're not included in your insurance) and will continue to cover your child until you apply for MiChild after the birth.

Good luck and Congratulations
L.

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H.S.

answers from Detroit on

Even though you have individual insurance, you may still be eligiable for Medicaid which covers all of your prenatal stuff. I lost my job in Dec. of 2006 while pregnant and I had all the health insurance. You'll qualify for something called 'healthy kids' ... it's really great, I chose the M-Care Medicaid and it was really helpful. The number to call for info on medicaid is 734 ###-###-####

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C.P.

answers from Kalamazoo on

Have you tried going down to FIA and applying for medicaid? They'll give it to pretty much anybody that can't afford prenatal care and doesn't have insurance that will cover it. I con't believe there is an insurance company that doesn't cover prenatal care. I think you should look for a different insurance company. But I would deffinately check on medicaid. If you do get medicaid they will probably cancel it a month after the end of the pregnancy but it doesn't seem like that's an issue for you. If you live in the kalamazoo area the department of human services is on stockbridge. It's worth a shot. I had medicaid for both of my pregnancies and I never had to pay a dime for any care, delivery, or prenatal vitamins. hope this helps. good luck.

PS If you do get the medicaid, I went to Bronson Womens Services for all my prenatal care. It's an office of midwives and it's right inside bronson. And bronson just built a whole new birthing center. If you go there try to get an appointment with Kristin. She delivered my second little one. She's really nice.

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J.T.

answers from Grand Rapids on

Hi K. -

Have you tried through the state? I think my sister-in-law used something like Mi-Child when she was pregant and didn't have insurance. It might have even been medicaid (or medicare).

J.

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J.

answers from Detroit on

I second the recommendation for a home birth. I plan to do this with my next baby, even though my insurance will for all maternity/birth costs. There is so much more safety and intimacy in a home birth.

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S.W.

answers from Lansing on

MI has a mychild insuranse that helps pregnant women and then young kids. You can go down to your local health department and apply for it, or you maybe able to apply online. You might have to pay some for it, but not 300. and you will have to find a doctor that takes it, your might not. But when you think about it, it's well worth it.

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T.N.

answers from Saginaw on

Healthy kids is the program for medicaid. They cover prenatal care for the mother and delivery.

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M.H.

answers from Jackson on

I also have had the same problems these are the people that I have found to be the most resonable:

Joshua Scherer
Business Benefits Inc.
E-Health Insurance Services Inc.
Direct: 1.877.391.3330 or ###-###-####Assist: 1.800.626.5207Fax: 1.###-###-####Email: ____@____.com

They were very helpful and I have insurance for me which includes maternity, my husband and my 1 year old for under 200 per month.

Hopefully they can help you also

M.

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H.W.

answers from Grand Rapids on

Another option is a homebirth. They are safe for a low-risk pregnancy and cost much less than a hospital birth. Our insurance covers maternity costs in a hospital, but we opted for homebirth because we felt it was the optimal choice for us and I had a wonderful birth experience. If you think you might be interested in this, I'd be happy to answer any questions or suggest some resources for learning more. You can get a list of midwives who perform homebirths from the Michigan Midwife Association at http://www.michiganmidwives.org/

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M.M.

answers from Lansing on

Well all you have to do is sign up for a program from medicaid called my child or healthy kids. Every pregnant mom qualifies! Make sure that you specify that you dont want to apply for anything but medical coverage while you are pregnant and all you have to do is fill out the application. If you are from the Ingham County area you can go to the Ingham County Health Department on the corner of Cedar and Jolly. And in the building to the left(when looking from Cedar) on the second floor and I believe the first office area to the right will be where you can fill out an application and even have someone help you fill it out to make sure that you do everything correctly. Good luck let me know if you have any questions.

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L.O.

answers from Detroit on

Are you pregnant now??

If you are not- buy the maternity benefit from your bcbs and you are all set.

I knwo that Hap www.hap.org/solo is selling independent poliicies with a maternity benefit- I dont know if there is a waiting period.

Maternity care is expensive- my prenatal care and delivery was 25,000 adn I had a relatively normal pregnancy. Ihad some high blood pressure so I had some more dr visit and extra ultrasounds but nothing extreme..

you might want to check into michild... it is insurance for children in michigan- maybe it covers expectant moms too. or medicaid.. if your income is low you might qualify.

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H.H.

answers from Las Vegas on

Hi K.
My husband is an independant contractor also.
We buy our own insurance and our coverage does not include maternity. I'm sure you found out , just like us, that the amount of money that is spent paying for maternity coverage is more then what an actual delivery and OB visits cost. We do not qualify for medicaid. We found that if you call the hospitals in your area, they are ran like any other business, and can get competive with their fees. Explain your situation that you will be paying cash, what type of discount are they able to give. We found that paying up front gave the biggest discount. I ran into some complications, which the insurance co. did pick up, and the hospital reimbursed us for a credit.
I would be more then happy to answer any questions, feel free to email. Heidi

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S.W.

answers from Detroit on

My husband is also an independent contractor - we have blue cross through Farm bureau. They covered my pregnancies - even when I conceived a month before the insurance kicked in. As long as we could prove the date of conception was after the date we applied for coverage. I have heard of working out a payment plan too. Sometimes they require a down payment at the beginning of your pregnancy but it's different with every hospital.

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A.M.

answers from South Bend on

Apply for medicaid. You can get the forms online through the DHS website. http://www.michigan.gov/dhs
i would also call just to make sure youre filling out the right forms. medicaid is a lot more comprehensive than you might think, and if youre already pregnant im pretty sure they will cover you. good luck! no health insurance is a scary thing to have to go through : (

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K.H.

answers from Detroit on

Troy Beaumont has a great program for patients paying cash and there are wonderful OB's that work out of there. I actually work on the labor and delivery unit and have gotten to know most of our doctor's very very well. Here are a few names for you to check out. Dr. Ferris Ahmad, Dr. Deborah Mikula, Dr. Robert Valice, Dr. Joseph Love, and Dr. Carole Condevaux. They are all very very good doctor's and have wonderful staff at their office's. To get their phone numbers look at the Beaumont Physician Referral Directory at www.beaumonthospitals.com Also, you might want to look into medicaid. If you and your husband fall into the income bracket, Medicaid will pick up your maternity costs. You can get more info from that at the Dept. of Human Services through the MI.gov website.

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T.Y.

answers from Grand Rapids on

I would also check out Michild, I could be wrong but I believe they cover pregnant woman also.

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T.F.

answers from Detroit on

Have you tried signing up for medicade? It's worth a shot.

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