38 replies to this topic

[Spazz]

I have BCBS and don't pay anything b/c my plan covers me 100% b/c I'm having my baby where I work. Even if I had the baby somewhere else, I think I would only be responsible for $20 copays at my office visits.

Does your or your FI's company offer any other insurance plans? A lot of employers have more than 1 option for benefits.

[Hartyt509]

Thank god I'm in the UK and we don't have to pay any of that! Don't get pre-pregnancy check ups either lol I think you just get pregnant and then you get crap care all via the NHS lol

[KarmaB]

DH is self-employed, and I am a student so our insurance is pretty basic. We have Aetna and our plan does NOT cover maternity benefits. It will only cover complications of pregnancy. So needless to say we are paying for the entire pregnancy out of pocket. When it's all said and done we will have paid around $10,000 for Hannah to be born. Most doctors and hospitals will give you slight discounts if you are paying cash, but it really is not that much. Plus, the labs and sonograms are very expensive!

My best advice to you is to start looking now! Don't wait until you are pregnant to find insurance or it will be impossible. Also, I don't know if you would be willing to change jobs, but most larger employers cover maternity benefits with no extra waiting period. I considered getting a part-time job with insurance benefits just to cover the pregnancy, but it just didn't work with my school schedule.

[amym567]

Karma~
I hope it does end up being only around $10,000 for you~ for Austin to get here, it ended up being $32,767 (emergency c-sec)! I think about $1500 out of pocket for us- I have Blue Cross/Blue Shield.
Amy

[KarmaB]

Quote:

Originally Posted by amym567 Karma~ I hope it does end up being only around $10,000 for you~ for Austin to get here, it ended up being $32,767 (emergency c-sec)! I think about $1500 out of pocket for us- I have Blue Cross/Blue Shield. Amy

Oh, wow! Thank god you had insurance coverage. I'm pretty sure they inflate the costs for Insurance. The hospital quoted me a price about $1500 higher than a vaginal birth and I think my doctors fee might increase slightly too like by $500 or so. Let's hope it doesn't' get higher than that!

[kevsgirl]

Quote:

Originally Posted by amym567 Karma~ I hope it does end up being only around $10,000 for you~ for Austin to get here, it ended up being $32,767 (emergency c-sec)! I think about $1500 out of pocket for us- I have Blue Cross/Blue Shield. Amy

Oh my GOD! That is shocking.

[Bianca]

Quote:

Originally Posted by KarmaB Oh, wow! Thank god you had insurance coverage. I'm pretty sure they inflate the costs for Insurance. The hospital quoted me a price about $1500 higher than a vaginal birth and I think my doctors fee might increase slightly too like by $500 or so. Let's hope it doesn't' get higher than that!

I used to work with dental billing. Every insurance pays a different maximum so what we would charge the insurance was always really high. that way we could get the maximum payment from them and just write off the rest. if someone was paying out of pocket, there were usually discounts given to them.

[Tara]

Well, not that we are planning anything anytime soon, but our work has Cigna and the maternity benefits are 80 or 90% depending on the plan selected for exams and sonograms and there's a small deductible for the actual birth.

I never imagined looking beyond that because we do have pretty good benefits for the most part. We have an open access plan and can go almost anywhere to still get the full coverage. Out of network hospitals/physicans are covered at about 70% in the case of an emergency if we had to use one.

Good luck with the baby making!

[Davematthews16]

Quote:

Originally Posted by KarmaB DH is self-employed, and I am a student so our insurance is pretty basic. We have Aetna and our plan does NOT cover maternity benefits. It will only cover complications of pregnancy. So needless to say we are paying for the entire pregnancy out of pocket. When it's all said and done we will have paid around $10,000 for Hannah to be born. Most doctors and hospitals will give you slight discounts if you are paying cash, but it really is not that much. Plus, the labs and sonograms are very expensive! My best advice to you is to start looking now! Don't wait until you are pregnant to find insurance or it will be impossible. Also, I don't know if you would be willing to change jobs, but most larger employers cover maternity benefits with no extra waiting period. I considered getting a part-time job with insurance benefits just to cover the pregnancy, but it just didn't work with my school schedule.

Yep, I am definetely looking now (long process) No, there's no way I can switch jobs. I have a fantastic job that does offer excellent health bennefits including maternity coverage, but if I switch to my companies insurance or FI's (It's the exact same company) I will lose my doctor, and losing her as my doctor is NOT an option either. Thanks for the advice though, I am going to keep pluggin' away with my research

[anaderoux]

I am mexican but had my baby in US with no insurance and I ended up paying 10,000 including doctor's visit and doctor fee, anesthesia and hospital stay for 2 nights (elective c-section)