How to Cover a Pregnancy With Health Insurance

The average cost of having a baby is $6,378 for a normal delivery, $10,638 for a cesarean. The best way to ensure your pregnancy will be covered by health insurance is to plan ahead, making sure you obtain insurance before you become pregnant.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderately challenging

Things You’ll Need:

• Health Insurance Policy Covering Pregnancy

1. Try to have health insurance before you get pregnant. If you haven't had insurance coverage at all and then get insured through a group plan, the new health plan does not have to immediately cover your pregnancy and could make you wait a couple of months before coverage is offered.
2. Find out what kind of coverage your health plan or prospective plan provides for birth, adoption and pregnancy. Look at what type of maternity, preventive and well-baby care the plan provides.
3. Ask potential employers if the health insurance they offer covers maternity.
4. Avoid switching jobs if you are pregnant. If you do begin a new job during a pregnancy, it is possible that you might have to wait up to a couple of months for coverage.
5. Consider applying for Medicaid if you are uninsured and meet the program's low-income requirements.
6. Contact your state insurance department for more information on how to cover your pregnancy and ask what other types of low-cost insurance plans they offer.
7. Think about applying for COBRA to cover your pregnancy if you are between plans. COBRA is a federal law that provides health insurance for qualified workers, their spouses and their dependent children if they are between plans.
8. Try to get on a group health plan through your job or a professional organization if you are uninsured and pregnant. These will be less expensive than purchasing individual insurance.

Tips & Warnings

• Under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, a pregnancy is not considered a pre-existing condition, which means switching plans while pregnant should not be a problem. There are some exceptions, however.
• Contact your health plan within 30 days of your child's birth, adoption or placement for adoption and request a special enrollment to cover the event.
• Newborns and adopted children may not be exluded from health insurance for pre-existing conditions if they are enrolled in a health plan within 30 days of birth or adoption.
• Under the Newborns' and Mothers' Health Protection Act, if a plan covers maternity or newborn benefits, it must allow mothers and newborns a 48-hour hospital stay after a vaginal birth and 96 hours if a cesarean section has been performed, unless it is agreed with the physician and mother that there will be an earlier discharge.
• Contact the Pension and Welfare Benefits Administration of the U.S. Department of Labor or your state insurance department for more information on COBRA.