Pregnant - No Maternity Insurance

I have never had experience with it but one of my best friends lives in Idaho and if you qualify for State Aide you have to go thru a Midwife. She enjoyed the whole process and said it was much calmer/relaxed atmosphere than whatching her sister go thru delivery in a normal hospital. If it also helps she did the water birth and has nothing but great things to say about that too!

Sorry, I don't have time to read the responces. But I have heard that if you prepay the hospital they will lower the costs greatly??

An out-of-hospital birth with a midwife will cost you around $2500 - $5000, and that pretty much includes everything. If you birth in a birth center, there is an additional facility fee. Most midwives will work with you in terms of payment plans, etc. or even reduce their fee if you cannot afford to pay. You can find a list of local Certified Professional Midwives at http://www.texasmidwives.com/findamidwife.asp , and Certified Nurse-Midwives at http://www.midwife.org/find.cfm .

A list of Texas birth centers are here:
http://www.birthcenters.org/find-a-birth-center/index.php

My sister in law was in the same boat with her first two. She used a midwife and had ALL 5 at home. She had a great experience. She did not use the same midwife for all 5, and if you are interested, I could ask her for the names...I think there are many in the area to choose from. I know she had prenatal care with the midwife and I want to say (this was 12 years ago) she only paid like 2K total pre + postnatal and delivery...she had no complications what-so-ever. Not sure I would go that route for myself, but she really had a good experience (obviously, she did it 5 times). I was really surprised that she stuck with it after getting insurance as well.
Good Luck.

I would strongly urge you to go to www.birthcenter.net to get familiar with a birth using a nurse midwife. Your costs for all your prenatal care and delivery will be half of what you've already been quoted and they have fantastic payment plans. Check to see if your current insurance will cover an emergency such as an emergency cesarean (honestly, a planned cesarean, even by your doctor because the "baby is too big", is usually never really needed, it should be only in emergency situations, especially if you don't get an epidural or induced which causes an 80% rise in your chances of having a c-section).
If you're just wanting to have a hospital birth, then check out esurance.com. They may have a plan that you can buy that does have maternity for a low montly cost. YOu may have a high deductible, but if something should come up that's gonna cost you over 10,000, at least you won't have to pay the entire amount. In the state of TX, pregnancy is not considered a pre-existing condition, so you shouldn't have any problem getting one of these policies.
I still urge you to look at the midwife though, it will be the most wonderful experience of your life. We chose the Birth and Women's Center not just because of the people and midwives and atmosphere that we were to give birth in, but that it was in Baylor's back yard. Essentially, if anything were to happen (which is only 1% of births there), we would be at Baylor in literally 1 minute--the time it takes for them to ready the ER!

Check with the State of Texas. They offer maternity coverage in your situation. You just need to compare the monthy cost vs just paying the hospital directly. Another way to check is call an insurance agency. They usually have a medical specialist. They should have the details. Do not call an insurance company. They only want to sell you their insurance. Agencys sell lots of companies insurance.

I had the same thing. I ended up paying around $9K total for a C-Section. Be sure you are including not only hospital and OB costs, but also your epidural and any labs and ultrasounds. Some docs include that in their quote and others do not. Also, see if they will give you prenatal vitamins for free. My doc gave me samples the whole way through so I didn't have to spend more money on them. Your regular insurance will probably cover the baby once it is born. Honestly, I'd be very surprised if you can get much lower than this. I did a lot of homework on it. Also, with those cash prices, you have to have everything paid up front or they reserve the right to revert to regular pricing which can more than double it! The good news is that you can typically use a credit card. You might want to look into maternitycard.com, but from what I have heard it doesn't help much. Good luck and congratulations.

A.,

When my third child was born we too were cash pay. My husband was self-employed at the time and like you we had private health insurance but it did not cover maternity. I did have to have a c-section due to the fact I'd had one previously. If your ob delivers at more than one hospital definitely go with the hospital that cost the least. My ob only delivered at one hospital so I was limited on choices. Make sure everyone you work with (doctors, hospital, lab, ect.) know you are cash pay and ask them if they offer a cash discount. Also, they may offer a larger discount if you pay all at once vs. installments. But remember most of them will want to be paid-in-full before the baby is born (the hospital and ob).

Also, make sure you read over your insurance coverage beforehand. In my case even though the baby was covered from the first breath my plan specifically stated it did not cover any charges associated with newborn care following a normal delivery. Which ment it did not cover the pediatrician's visits to the hospital, or the hearing test, or anything else done for the baby while we were in the hospital.

One last thing, although it was not an option for me, remember a birthing center will probably be cheaper than a hospital. I don't know if you are open to that but it is something to think about.

Good luck and I hope everything goes well for both you and the baby.

A.

well...cash babies are expensive! I had one I know.
While you are in the hospital they will come to you and ask you to pay your bill. When this happens ask them to reduce your rate as much as possible. If you pay before you leave the hospital you can receive as much as 50% off. But you have to pay in full. They are much more willing to work with you last minute than in advance. If you lock in your price in advance then you are stuck with that price. Also keep in mind that people have babies all the time and just dont pay(mostly people here from Mexico) That is why its so expensive. If they can get it for free then you can at least get a good deal.
Other than that just get on the payment plan. It took us 3 years to pay off my C-section.
Good luck!

Have you checked into using a midwife and having your baby at home or in a birthing center? My oldest daughter has seven children, six of whom were born at home or at a birthing center with the aid of a midwife. The only bad experience she had was with the hospital birth of her first child. Both my granddaughters have also had their babies at home and it was a blessed, wonderful and happy event for our family each time. Midwives are much less expensive and the care you receive is top-notch.

Just a suggestion - consider delivering with a midwife at a birth center instead of at the hospital. The cost is significantly less and the experience can be so empowering. I can give you a few midwife and birth center suggestions if you are interested.

I'm in the exact same situation. I called Plano Presby where I had my last baby but had insurance before and not this time. The cash price was about $6200 and my OB about $3800 and that's for a c-section. I need to add for epidural and pediatrician visit to the baby but they said this will be billed to me. We are self employed with insurance and no maternity but can't get aid. Good luck if you can figure out anything else and let us know.

A.:
Like some previous responses, I think researching less-than mainstream USA options would be your first step. The resources offered are great, and I have another one for you to check out as well for info about birthing options and pregnancy too (to really become more empowered and less dependent on the typical medical model of having a baby):
mothering.com/discussions/ and scroll down to Birth and Beyond -- HTH!

For the same reason, I chose a mid-wife. About $3500 covers everything but,they all charge differently. My midwife also took payments and offered a pre-pay discount. A homebirth is less expensive than the birthing center and I highly recommend it. Having your baby in your home is the most natural and comfortable way. I loved it.

i USED A MIDWIFE FOR ALL 3 OF MY BOYS. ALL FROM 9LB2OZ TO 10LBS. I WAS ABLE TO DELIVER THEM WITH NO COMPLICATIONS, AND NO EPISIOTOMIES!!!!! THAT REALLY HELPED DURING RECOVERY!I GOT WONDERFUL 1 ON 1 PRENATAL CARE AND POST NATAL AS WELL! ALL OF IT WAS COVERED IN THE TOTAL COST, WHICH FOR MY LAST BIRTH 7 YEARS AGO WAS ABOUT 1600.00 THE 1ST 2 I WENT TO A BIRTHING CENTER FOR DELIVERY, WHICH USUALLY BRINGS THE TOTAL COST UP ABOUT 5-700.OO BUT MY LAST ONE WE HAD AT HOME! MY LAST MIDWIFE'S NAME IS JANE GANDY AND HER OFFICE # IS ###-###-#### IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO CHECK INTO THAT OPTION!GOODLUCK! K.

A.,

You have one child already. Did you have any serious complications with that birth? If not, consider the following.

Welcome to the business of medically managed birth. It can be very expensive, but doesn't have to be. It's like a restaurant. The more you order, the more expensive it gets. If you can forego the bottle of wine (narcotic injections and epidurals), appetizers(e.g. pitocin, episiotomy, etc), order simple grilled chicken rather than the fancy filet mignon (vaginal delivery instead of c-section) and pass on dessert (go home within 6 hours, rather than lounging in the hospital eating their bad food for 1-2 days) you can do remarkable things to lower your costs. Hence the low incentive for conventional doctors and hospitals to educate you about cheaper options! The more services you order, the more money they make. You aren't the only ones who have bills to pay!

Try the Allen Birthing Center. www.allenbirthingcenter.com. You can birth in water if you like. They know how to get babies out efficiently. Also, take a Bradley birth class to teach you just how manageable it is and to empower you to choose the healthiest options for you and your baby.

Good luck!

There is a program online called Maternity Card for pregnant women without insurance. They negotiate a lower set rate with the doctors and hospital before you go in to have your baby.

Hi A.,
We have been ttc for about 4 years and totally self pay through that process. Which we know we will be self pay through the pregnancy process too. We have spoken with a company call MaternityBenefits.com. And I would suggest going to their website and getting their info. Might bring some comfort. Best of wishes on your new little one.
J.

We faced the same situation. We basically were quoted the cash paying price from the hospital and had to pay it up front before the baby was born. Be sure you also have spoken with the anestesia group. It was a separate upfront fee for us in addition to the hospital. I knew that I would be having a csection so a midwife was not a possibility. The hospital did let us split the fee into 2 payments with everything having to be paid a month before delivery. Good Luck!

I work for an insurance co and dont understand what kind of policy does not cover maternity related services. Is this insurance through an employer?

Hi,
I would contact Pregnancy Resource Center in Rockwall, Texas ###-###-####. They have information of all kinds to help women who are having babies. The people who work there are very nice! I have referred many people to this resource center.

R.

I know of a doctor in Frisco and in Dallas that has some of the lowest prices in town. But his care of all of his patients are very professional. He even gives you 3 free sono's if your a cash paying patient. His name is Dr Ezell S Autrey. Here is his telephone number ###-###-####. Good luck.