Maternity Coverage - Lehigh Acres,FL

When I had my daughter I was without isurance. I looked into it and every plan in FL costs more that what it was for self pay. You may qualify for medicare pregancy insurance. Other than that you would be best to just pay out of pocket. I paid $3000. for the dr and $3000 for the hospital. And all my testing was on top of that, but it was still cheaper than paying for insurance rider and keeping on, not to mention when the hospitals and drs have to deal with insurance the cost sometimes triples. So your 50% is more that the money you would have paid alone. (I got approved for medicaid once I gave birth to my daughter and they then paid her hospital bill and the hospital refunded my $3000.00. But the hospital billed medicaid $12,000. for the labor and deliverly.) Hope this helps.

I was on medicaid for my pregnancy. Even if it takes some time for it to kick in, they will make it retroactive to your first appointment.

In response to the first mother who posted, stating if you need medicaid you are not financially ready for a baby, I'd like you to know that not ALL companies provide maternity insurance for their employees. Thank you for sharing your ignorance in the matter of health care and corporate America.

B., I wish you the best of luck. When/if I have another child, I will be going the medicaid route due to an unplanned c-section with my first. I'd rather plan for the worst than not be prepared at all. There are plenty of "what ifs" to take into consideration with maternity care. Hope the choice comes a little easier since so many mothers have replied.

Hi B.,

I second the recommendation for out-of-hospital births. They are cheaper and as safe (or safer b/c of fewer interventions) as the hospital for low-risk pregnancies. Best of luck!

I too have heard cash discounts are a good option; prepaying, etc.

Sorry no advice other than that except to avoid an online place which offers a discount "maternity card" that you pay a monthly fee for. My sister tried that and the discount card was refused at all the doctors and hospitals, despite the source claiming it was accepted EVERYWHERE. She ended up filing a better business bureau complaint against them, along with numerous other moms in the same boat.

I think the other ladies who have responded have given you some excellent advice! No one mentioned this card, but just in case the topic comes up...if you check the company's record or search online you will find all the negative comments about them. I just had to steer a friend of a friend away from this same company just a few weeks ago - she was almost ready to make the mistake and purchase.

All the best to you and yours!

I don't know whether or not it works out money-wise for an easy, uncomplicated birth, but maybe do some calculations as to whether it would be better or not to have coverage should something unexpected happen....

I had an easy, no complications birth with my 3 yr old daughter, followed by an unplanned c-section, excessive bleeding and sickness following the birth as well as a newborn in the NICU for 3 days with my now 8 mo old.... I am sure the costs related to my 2nd experience were atronomical compared to my 1st....

You can possibly save some costs by not getting uneccessary treatments and interventions (eye gunk, vit K, Hep B, circumcision)

Not sure which way is best to go....you can also negotiate down some of the billing with the hospital accounting dept if you don't have insurance. They are typically happy to get something rather than nothing....

My sister didn't have maternity coverage for her second child. The OB's office was more than willing to negotiate a flat fee for their services and the hospital did the same. Their insurance would pick up if there were medical emergencies so they were lucky in that respect. It is worth a try.

Yeah, we looked into it, too and it wasn't worth the money to get the maternity rider-- it rarely is.

I, for one, would choose a midwife and even consider a home birth, which would cut out the hospital costs. I had 2 wonderful homebirths with midwives in Canada (of course up there it doesn't cost you a cent-- plus they get a 12 month maternity leave!) Maybe one day our country will catch on-- sigh!

Anyway, I wrote a couple of articles on midwives and homebirth:

Midwives in the U.S.
http://birthing-options.suite101.com/article.cfm/midwives...

Homebirth
http://birthing-options.suite101.com/article.cfm/five_rea...

Hi B.,
I tried to play the medicaid game when I got pregnant because we had NO health insurance. I ended up miscarrying before I ever got to see a Dr. I'll NEVER go that route again. I'd rather just pay for it all myself than deal with medicaid.
In case we do decide to "try again", I looked into insurance and etc. What I found out was, it is better to get an HSA account(Health savings acct.)rather than maternity coverage. You have to have some type of insurance to begin with. (which you do,so you've got that covered.) Any money going in this HSA acct. is pre tax dollars. It can be deducted from your husbands paycheck. You get a debit card to use for Dr. visits, and any left over money is yours. So rather than the $400 a month for a maternity coverage payment, which you'll never see again, you can put that money in this account and keep any that's left over. There are certain clauses you'll have to pay attention to like- I've heard what's not used at the end of the year disappears.(Uncle Sam keeps it) So you have to make sure you plan it right, and stop putting money in when you know you're getting to the point of not being able to use it all by years end. The good thing is that it's pre tax money. So you are saving more than you think. I haven't actually done it, because we don't have insurance to begin with. Maybe there is someone who knows more that can respond with more pros and cons. I just thought it sounded like a better deal than buying maternity insurance.
Good Luck! Happy Baby making-
J.

I paid cash for my maternity care and the delivery. Most doctors and hospitals are giving great discounts for those who pay cash, since you are cutting out their middleman. I have also heard that there is medicaid for pregnant women. You might have to check in to that. However, my personal opinion is, if you need medicaid then you are not financially ready for a baby. Hope some of this helps.

Hi. The cost of insurance is ridiculous, but it covers things unforseen. My daughter wound up in the NICU for 5 days. I had to pay nothing, but my insurance company sent me the statement the hospital sent them. The bill, just for the NICU was almost 15,000 dollars. With insurance, I paid a 300 dollar copay (that's really low), but again I saw the hospital bill. For the delivery, ob fees, anesthia and my stay the cost was 14,000. Had I not had insurance, I would have paid close to $30,000 dollars for this hospital visit.

Hope this helps
P.