Approximately sixteen percent of all females in the United States are without maternity insurance coverage. In the event that they may become pregnant, these women could be confronted with an overwhelming amount of medical expenses, particularly if they experience complications with their pregnancy. In this article we will discuss a number of techniques on how to find low-cost maternity health insurance coverage. Our goal is to help you find the right maternity insurance coverage to help you save as much money as possible on your pregnancy.
What is the definition of maternity insurance?
Maternity insurance is individual health insurance coverage that includes an additional maternity rider. As of January 2011, there are no stand-alone maternity insurance plans. Many companies do offer discount maternity programs. However, be very careful with these types of discount health programs as they are not insurance plans and usually promise more than they ever deliver.
There are essentially two types of individual health insurance that you can purchase that offer coverage for maternity: One type of health plan is known as an indemnity insurance plan. This form of health plan will allow you to pick your own medical doctor and hospital. Because of this freedom, an indemnity health plan can turn out to be one of the most expensive kinds of health insurance plans offered. Indemnity plans always have a schedule of benefits and generally will limit the exact amount of protection available for each type of health procedure covered. The other type of individual health insurance is called a managed health care plan (also know as an HMO, PPO, or POS). This sort of insurance plan has a network of medical doctors and hospitals which you should use for your health care. You can use this kind of insurance for doctors and hospitals outside of the insurance plan's network, but the coverage will be limited and you will almost always have more out-of-pocket expense than if you stay within the network. Managed health insurance plans are typically more affordable and are the most popular type of individual health insurance available.
What does maternity insurance usually cover
Standard individual maternity insurance riders that are added to individual health policies cover a portion of your doctor expenses, hospital fees, prescription medications, labor and delivery. This coverage is limited to the amounts defined in the maternity coverage rider. Make sure that you take time to completely understand the maternity rider offered by an insurance company before you make the decision to buy the insurance coverage. If you have insurance through your job, typically known as group insurance, then the coverage is usually more comprehensive.
Can I get maternity health insurance coverage if I am already expecting?
Almost all personal health insurance companies do not offer maternity insurance coverage, or any insurance coverage for that matter, to women who are expecting. In the case that you are currently pregnant, quite a few states do offer Medicaid or other state funded health coverage to low-income individuals and families. To see if your state has a low-income maternity program, visit your state's department of insurance website.
If you are expecting and do not qualify for a state offered maternity program, it is advised to communicate with your local hospitals and negotiate a lower rate for their services. Most hospitals do give discounts if you pay cash or set up some form of payment program up front. The only other option is to obtain group insurance coverage through and employer or your spouse's employer. Group health insurance plans almost always contain maternity coverage.
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