Myself Health Insurance

You may want to consider a homebirth, if you're so inclined. The out of pocket cost is between $1600 and $3600, depending on the midwifery practice. They all take payments, some even barter. That cost covers all prenatal visits and the birth. The only extra costs are nominal lab fees which vary depending on which tests you choose to have or decline and $35 or so for a birth kit to have at home. In a homebirth setting, you are the boss and can do whatever you want. Many offer water tubs for labor and/or birth as an option, too.

Just food for thought.

I am looking into Mercicare. It is not access but it is a part of it. I spoke with:
Richard A. Kerr
Account Manager
Healthcare Group of Arizona
10851 N. Black Canyon Hwy.
Ste. 660
Phoenix, AZ 85029
###-###-#### (direct)
800.247.2289 (toll-free)
www.hcgaz.com
They are not enrolling anyone until August but you could call him and get on a waiting list.

we were in the same boat. if you do not qualify for ahcccs, there is a great place to get all you prenatal care for around $400. AID TO WOMEN center in Tempe. Dr Statt. I don't know what we would have done without him. ###-###-####.

Depending on your income you might qualify for AHCCCS coverage. My sister-in-law had both of her daughters using their coverage and is currently using it for her third pregnancy. She has had great doctors with it and her costs have been minimal. I believe she said her copay was something like $10 when she gave birth at the hospital. I have United Healthcare coverage and I paid $1800 for a routine delivery!

Best of luck and congrats on your new pregnancy! I hope everything works out for you. :)

http://www.azahcccs.gov/Services/Programs/babyAZ.asp

I don't know if you've heard of it or not, but when you make your OB/GYN appt, find out if the doctor accepts AHCCCS (Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System). If they do, you can apply directly through their office. It is MUCH quicker to apply through the office. If you don't and go through the DES office instead, (Department of Economic Security) it can take months! Take my advice and apply through the office! We had AHCCCS when my husband and I weren't married, and we have AHCCCS now that we are having our daughter and are married. It can't hurt to try! Good luck!

You have a lot of great advice on how to get it, but in the meantime, you REALLY need to go to your ob/gyn and just pay them cash for your prenatal care. They want to get paid, and they also get state funding for people in your situation. I forgot (yes.) to insure my second child and my sons dr basically knocked about 50% off the price based on state immunization programs that I could get. Give them the benefit of the doubt and tell them the situation.

We can't afford health insurance either, so I am opting for a home birth. I am using Pamela Qualls. All your prenatal care, the birth, your follow-up care, and the babies first 2 weeks of care is all included for $2,700. There are some other small expenses, like blood work, but nothing big at all. Maybe if you can't get insurance, this will help you too??

Have you looked in to access, threw the state. alot of times when you are pregnant access will pick you up to make sure you get taken care of correctly. good luck

N.,

Go get on access "AZ State Insurance". They should pick you up because you are expecting. Doesn't your husband have insurance for the whole family where he works? If you have 2 children already what insurance company are they on? You should be able to get help from the State. I don't know what Kidscare is but go and try and get you and the kids on access, ASAP or have your husband get you and the family on his insurance at work. Also call kidscare or the State every day until they take your calls and get you on a medical plan.

D.

Hi,
I was wondering if you have tried applying for insurance with the DES/AHCCCS. I have three children and with a couple of them I was in a similar situation as you. My experience and knowledge with AHCCCS is that if and when you apply they put a rush on your application due to your pregnancy status. Most times you apply and they will only approve you due to your pregnancy and not the rest of your family. The state wants to ensure that you have a safe and healthy pregnancy. So go to or back to DES and apply letting them know of your pregnancy will help. Good luck.

Hello, same here! :)

You can try and try, but we were in the EXACT situation as you, make too much to qualify for help but not enough to pay for insurance. After three months of research and phone calls to every lead I could track down, the ONLY thing I found that would defray our costs a bit is Maternity Advantage. You can call them for me information and their website is:

http://www.maternityadvantage.com/home.asp

Ihope this helps, and, if you find better information or a source, please let me know! We are in the same boat, but this can at least help with some of the costs, keep your costs as low as possible, and set up a payment plan for any expenses that pile up afterward. I have some other information for you if you would like to just email me directly. I wish you the best! :)

N., assuming that you are in Tucson, you might want to look into the Birth and Women's Health Center. The phone is ###-###-####. It's a great place to have a baby and they are very helpful to families that don't have insurance. You might also want to find out about PCAP (Pima County Assistance Program) which works out discounted health care for those who have too much income for ACHESS (sp?) but not enough to buy insurance. (250% 0f the poverty level is the cutoff.)

I applied for ahccs in March and was approved in April, I had faxed my application in so they received it quicker and I did not worry about our information floating around in the mail. I followed up twice to see how things were going with the application and it was approved quickly, no questions asked. My husband works and we have two kids under 3. Our monthly income is barely under the threshold, we make about $2600 take home but have more bills than we have income. We do pay a premium of $160 a month but it is much better than through my husbands job which wanted almost $700 a month for just medical. My advice is to follow up with kidscare and also check to see if you at least qualify for SOBRA through the state. You may even qualify for health insurance for parents through ahccs...Look at this chart to see where you fall and also call because they do usually consider the unborn child as a member of the household which bumps up the income limitation. http://www.ahcccs.state.az.us/Publications/Reference/Inco...
Try calling the office too to see if they can help guide you through the steps and check on your kidscare app as well. Hope this helps and good luck. I am due in January so I understand your concern as well since I just was approved for ahccs in time.

In the state of Arizona pregnancy is not considered a pre-exiating condition. If you get any insurnace anytime before you give birth then you are covered.

Hi N.!

Try calling this guy Larry Tripke, ###-###-####. email address ____@____.com helped me and my family. We got health insurance for my whole family with Healthnet for 354.00 a month. We go to the doctor for $30 and it covers everything, lab work, x-rays etc. Give him a call see what he can do for you. Hope it helps.

D. P.

Congratulations - try Saint Elizabeth of Hungary Clinic in Tucson - they operate on a sliding scale and will only charge what you can afford and you don't have to be Catholic to use them - but you may be eligible for medicaid/AHCCCS so look into that as well. In the meantime do your best to eat well and drink plenty of water, exercise moderately, and rest as much as you can - plus keep a positive outlook - everything affects your unborn baby. Good luck.

Hi N., Congrats on the pregnancy! First of all, I'm an insurance agent, been in the industry for 20+ years and there is not one single insurance carrier that will take you already being pregnant. That is called "buying a claim". Like waiting til your house burns down and then looking into homeowners insurance. It's just too late. I think your only option is something thru the state, but maybe some other mom's have a good idea on how to get that. good luck to you and let me know if I can help with anything else. www.agentlady.com

Ahh, I see you are in Tucson! AHCCS can be a bear to get approval, I remember. We're in New Mexico now. But we used to live in Tucson. I remember that I had been working as a teacher and then quit to finish my degree at the U of A. I found out that I was pregnant in December and was able to stay on the school's insurance until I quit in May. We had applied for AHCCS but it didn't go through until August, my son was born in July. We kept getting bills and finally it kicked in and paid them.

I would use a midwife. We had our son through the Birth Center at Tucson Medical Center. Although I had complications (48 hr labor, then a c-section), the midwife was great at dealing with everything. I would choose this route again even if I knew I would have complications. The Birth Center is right next to TMC so if there are problems, they just take you across the parking lot. (like they did me). They are very, very nice. Tell Lisa Jo that Lisa Jo, mother of Ignatius says hi!!

The Birth Center will see you for a reduced cost, they'll also help you to find out other insurance options and help with AHCCS. The receptionists over there are not very helpful, but talk to the midwife about the problems and she'll help you. No worries.
Peace.

Hi N.,

I was in the same boat with my second daughter. Call the medicaid office and ask about applying for SCI (State Coverage Insurance). We did not qualify for Medicaid but could not afford insurance. They also go off of your income and you pay a different premium according to how much you make. We had one child and made too much for Medicaid and my premium was $95 a month. The biggie is though pregnancy is NOT a pre-exsisting condition. Any other plan that I looked into I would not be covered b/c I was already pregnant. You might end up paying less or nothing at all b/c you have 2 children and that all affects what catagory you fall into. There is alittle bit of paper work involved but it will save you a ton of money. Even if you have to pay a premium every month the end out-of-pocket will prolly be as much as a single ultra-sound. Check it out and I'm sure it will work out for you guys. Congrats and good luck. You can look at that SCI as a regular health insurance plan too once you have the baby then your premium should go down.

K.

Hi N.,

I was in the same boat when I had my son. I didn't qualify for any state help. What we did was getting a package deal from the hospital and made payments. The hospital bill has to be paid for before you leave the hospital. We did the same with my OB/GYN. We didn't have to pay her prior, so we paid smaller amounts for longer. We did have some complications and I just explained out situation to the ultrasound place and the lab and made payments. It's not easy, but it can be done. Everyone was really nice and helpful. Please email me if have have any questions. Good Luck.

K.

P.S. If your husband has insurance and you don't when the baby comes put it on your husbands plan and it will save you some money.

Look into an insurance plan called MerciCare...it is for people who are "self employed" and that could cover a lot of "jobs" (selling Avon, Creative Memories etc).

Hi N.,
Three things:
1. Keep saying your prayers! I believe God has a plan for all of us, Even if we can't see what it is right now.
2. When my daughter became pregnant with our first grandson, she had no insurance. She called the hospital and the doctor and make pre arrangements for payment and started paying now! So you want to do that immediately! And, the doctors liability goes up with every month and lack of his supervision. So call your doctor and go now!
3. Call 1-800-942-1260 choose 2 and then option 2 for the University of Mississippi Pregnancy Study by Dr. Doug Odom, OB-GYN -- the fewer the complications of your pregancy, the healthier you and your baby the best for everyone! Complications are expensive and fearful!
Call me with any questions at 866-508-2910. And I'll be glad to put some info in the mail for you!
S.

I have an amazing Naturopathic Doctor that has been doing home births for over 20 years. She also does pediatrics. Her office is in Tempe. She takes payments. Her package is $3000. This includes, prenatal care, delivery & care of the baby for the first 6 weeks. Good luck! And please don't wait any longer to get care. Sara T.

N.,

I have my own business that we offer Health/Dental disount benefits. So it isn't actual insurance, but it will at least give you a discount compared to paying full price. If you want information to look over please let me know. Email me at ____@____.com this will help you.

L.

I would try to find a planned parenthood near you. I thought there was one on 32nd st and thunderbird. They do discount checkups and it is designed for those with out health care. I went to them gor birthcontrol when I did not have healthcare. They also help w/ pregnancy check ups and so on.

Check in to free clinics around the valley that offer prenatal care..contact Maricopa Medical center, they use to have a free clinic. I work at John C lincoln hospital and i know that we have delivery packages available. That means that if you pay for your delivery and such ahead of time, they give you a huge break on the cost. They have all different types of packages (with or without an epidural, etc.) I am sure that other hospitals have this as well. Just call and talk to the OB director or the unit cordinator and they will be able to give you prices and since you are in your third month you could pay a little at a time and have it paid for before the baby comes...hope this helps!

I was wondering if you have tried going through DES. When I had my son I was on that and when your pregnant they rush your application through. It just a thought, maybe look into it, if you already haven't.

Hi N.,

You can always go to planned parenthood for a first visit and they can help you out with avenues to look into for healthcare and planning for the baby on your budget. Good luck and God bless, and congratulations.

D.

I would encourage you to look into seeing if you can pay for it yourselves. Hopefully everything goes smoothly and if there are no complications the price can be affordable. The hospital will work with you and heavily discount it and accept payments most likely. And doctors have a discounted price for people who are paying without insurance so you can go get some checkups in the meantime to make sure the baby is healthy. I'm sorry to hear that you don't have insurance and I know very well what that's like from personal experience, but I know with a little budgeting and negotiating with the doctors/hospital you can work out something affordable so you can pay for your baby. I really wish you luck and an extremely healthy pregnancy. And as a little side note, having a midwife see you during pregnancy and deliver the baby versus a doctor can be much less expensive I believe, and I've heard it's a wonderful experience.