One of my friends just got pregnant.?

Question

She didn't have insurance and now she got it. The problem is, she found out that insurance won't cover the delivery because they told her pregnancy is "pre existing" condition. Meaning, when she got insurance, she was already pregnant. What are her options? She can't qualify for Medicare either because she makes a little more money then needed to qualify.

Answer 1

If she only makes a little more for healthy start (medicaid) she can still apply and pay a small premium.  go to the website for your state (just search Healthy Start or Healthy Families)

Answer 2

Nothing she is going to have to pay for her delivery.. She can call the hospital and see if they have a payment plan.

Answer 3

Make sure she doesn't qualify for any other state program where a higher level of income is allowed (like Schip, Chips or Healthy Familes). The names differ in many states. She may have to pay a premium or Share of Cost each month.

If she still doesn't qualify for that, she will have to contact the doctor and hospital to arrange to pay for her pre-natal care and delivery in cash. This is common, since pregnancy if many times not covered by insurance. Make sure she gets info on a normal delivery and c-section and for incidentals like epidurals. She should start checking into these fees early, since most require payment in full at or before delivery.

If she goes to a county hospital or a teaching hospital, she may have her fees based on a sliding fee scale based on her income.

Answer 4

If the insurance is through her company they may have to cover it.Did she know she was pregnant before she got the insurance or was it after. She needs to check the laws in the state she is in.

Answer 5

She may also look into this program called LINX2Health..it's not an insurance provider, but a medical benefit savings card.  My friend used it and she able to save lots of money on any type of doctor's visit (medical,dental, vision, prescriptions, etc..) check www.5linx.net/lab under products for more info in your state. Hope this helps!

Answer 6

i don't know ask a doc or insurance agent

Answer 7

There is health insurance made just for pregnancy... Check this out!

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=pre...

*I really hope this helps you and your friend out!

Answer 8

We, the taxpayers, will foot the bill for her at any county hospital.

Answer 9

sounds like it is going to be expensive for her.

Answer 10

She can go back to Medicare and apply for programs that are for those who earn more but don't have coverage for their pregnancies and such. She needs to contact the liason at the clinic where she goes and sit down and ask what her options are. She could go to medicaid itself, but they usually have medicaid reps in the clinic that come during the week so it would be better to talk to that person rather than going downtown. All she needs to do is call the clinic and ask the desk who their insurance liaison is and ask for an appointment. In the mean time, if her hours were to reduce and she were to fall under the bracket, medicaid is retroactive 3 months and would cover all of her medical bills plus the delivery.. its a long 9 months to reduce her hours.