Having good health insurance is more important than ever when you're expecting a new baby.
Being a new parent or expectant mother makes having good health insurance coverage more important than ever. You will be depending on your health insurance for everything from prenatal and maternity care to pediatric visits and immunizations for your baby. It's important to learn the terms of your health insurance coverage right now to avoid surprise medical bills during this wonderful time. You also need to take steps to maintain your health insurance coverage if you lose or quit your job.
It is smart to figure out what your health insurance will and won't cover before you set up your first obstetrician or midwife appointment. Here are some answers you need to get from the questions below from your company's insurance department or through your health insurance plan's customer service.
Does the plan that you have cover prenatal and maternity care? Federal law requires that your plan cover your pregnancy-related medical bills if you work for an employer with 15 or more employees.
Do you need to get preauthorization for any of your prenatal or maternity care?
Some health plans will penalize you financially if you don't call shortly after your admission to the health insurance company letting them know that you are admitted to the hospital for labor and delivery.
If the plan provides greater coverage for in-network providers and hospitals, ask for a directory of ones in your area. What are the plan’s rules regarding in-network and out-of-network health care providers and what about hospitals?
Most plans don't require this but, will you need a referral from your primary care doctor to see an obstetrician?
Does your coverage provide for prenatal tests such as ultrasounds and amniocentesis procedures?
How long can you stay in the hospital after delivery? If medically necessary, will the plan cover an extended stay?
Find out what coverage your plan provides in these situations if you want to use a certified nurse midwife or deliver your baby in a birth center or at home. A lot of plans will cover a certified nurse midwife and some will pay for a delivery at selected birth centers but very few cover home births because of the liability involved.
The arrival of medical bills from the pediatrician, the nursery, and (in some cases) the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) will probably be the first bill from the hospital your baby receives with his or her name on it. Some questions you might want to ask before your baby arrives are:
What do you need to do to add your new baby to your plan?
A health insurance plan will provide coverage only if you enroll your child for dependent benefits within 30 days of birth. Will the plan cover your newborn's nursery stay? Remember that your newborn's hospital bill will be separate from your own so these questions are important to ask so that you are not surprised! *Does the plan cover well-child care, such as your baby's first set of pediatrician appointments and vaccinations?
You will need to pay careful attention to health insurance issues if you happen to lose your job or change jobs during your pregnancy or soon after your baby is born. You could be left uninsured at one of the most important and expensive times in your life.
You usually give up health insurance coverage through your former employer and sign up for health benefits with your new employer when you change jobs. Some employers impose a waiting period of a few months before you are eligible for health insurance coverage so expectant parents need to be especially careful when making job-related health insurance changes. You will be responsible for the bills if you are waiting for benefits when you have the baby.
The most important thing is that you, as an expectant mother, are not stressed out having to worry about all of these things when all you should be concerned about is your baby and you, so just check all of this as soon as you can and be rest assured.