Obtaining Personal Health Insurance Plan While Pregnant

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amother

Fri, Aug 02 2013, 6:36 pm

I feel overwhelmed and need some guidance. My husband and I are in a transition period and will find ourselves temporarily (hopefully) without jobs/benefits. I just found out I am pregnant. My work allows for Cobra benefits but to just cover myself would be over 500.00 a month, the family over 1700. This is a cost that I can not handle but a pregnancy could cost thousands and thousands, if everything goes as planned, so I was thinking of just taking the Cobra for myself and getting family plan for my husband and children. Does anyone know if I signed up for a personal insurance, would they not pay for pregnancy related costs? Anyway a new policy would cover my pregnancy? I have been getting mixed ideas when googling it due to Affordable Care Act. Despite being unemployed, I do not think we would be able to qualify for Medicaid as our income from last yr is quite a bit over the poverty line.

Tova

Fri, Aug 02 2013, 6:52 pm

I THINK, although I'm not certain, that whether pregnancy is considered a pre-existing condition is state mandated. It's possible the Affordable Care Act mandates federally that it cannot be excluded as pre-existing. Can you speak with a knowledgable insurance rep/broker?

wow

Fri, Aug 02 2013, 7:17 pm

Which state are u in? There are different options depending on where you live....

Peanut2

Fri, Aug 02 2013, 7:44 pm

Your best bet would be to get cobra for yourself and private insurance for the rest of your family.

However, I'm pretty sure that you would qualify for medicaid. It's not based on how much you made the whole year, but now. So if you are both unemployed or make less than the required minimum for medicaid you should be eligible. It varies by state, but is significantly more than below the poverty line.
Google medicaid for your state and look up the actual info. Call them. You can still get cobra and use medicaid as secondary, because it's possible that you would only qualify for medicaid for pregnant women, and that wouldn't cover you for anything not pregnancy related.

busydev

Sat, Aug 03 2013, 11:33 pm

if you both currently dont have jobs you should be eligible for medicaid. they dont look at what you made last year but at what you are making now. esp for you if you are pregnant.

if that doesnt pan out speak to an insurance broker about what options and costs are available for you and your familys needs. as long as you didnt have a lasp in coverage pregnancy should be covered by a new insurance.

srbmom

Sun, Aug 04 2013, 12:23 am

If you have assets it is very unlikely you're family will be eligible for medicaid, but many states offer specific plans for pregnant women. That would just cover you and your baby - not the rest of your family.

Where I live it is impossible to buy private insurance while pregnant, and even a spouse cannot join a private plan while the wife is pregnant because the insurance is then obligated to cover any offspring born to the insured - which they don't want to automatically do without knowing the baby is healthy.

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