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Why Do You Need an Individual Health Pregnancy Insurance Maternity Coverage?
Written by Helen White   
It is natural for a woman to get excited on finding out that she is pregnant. But, the happiness soon diminishes in many cases when you realize the additional financial burden of having a child and need for individual insurance. A survey states that more than 13% of pregnant American women have no maternity insurance coverage.

If you are planning to or expecting a child, it is always good to make sure that you have an affordable health insurance maternity coverage . As you need to have regular check ups and prenatal care sessions, a maternity insurance will guarantee the birth of a healthy child.

The main drawback of not having insurance is the high amount of money involved in going to hospital and delivering a baby that might be anything from $10,000 and above. In addition to the charges paid for ultrasounds, birth, the budget can shoot up if there is any complication in childbirth like a cesarean or premature delivery.

Even if you have an individual health insurance, be sure that maternity care is covered in it. In case you don't have an insurance plan, it is good to ensure that you get a proper coverage for yourself before conceiving. It is not difficult to find maternity health insurance after conception, but the chances are that you will get the deal by paying more. This is because the health provider will consider your maternity as a pre-existing condition, which means more expenses to be paid by his company. There are some insurers who don't provide maternity coverage by considering it a pre-existing situation, but this is against federal laws.

Many group insurance plans also don't cover maternity insurance. Before this clause becomes effective, there might be a waiting for the time period of three months to a year. But, what happens if you become pregnant during this period? If you have a COBRA, find out if it has a maternity coverage. You will get the plan by paying more, but it will be worth it.

Some states like California have special plans such as Medi-cal for pregnant women. These are federally sponsored programs, but are mostly meant for low-income people. You can also opt for a maternity card option, which is designed to help pregnant women and is accepted almost everywhere. The card gives many benefits to cater to the medical needs of pregnant women and the total medical expense becomes much less than the expected one through this card.

The package provided by maternity card includes:

  • All visits to doctor.
  • 24 hour counseling.
  • Prenatal vitamins.
  • Stay in hospital.
  • Sonography charges.
  • Laboratory tests.
  • Payment of anesthesiologist
  • Prescription drug charges.
  • 24 hours nurse hotline service.
  • Check ups and tests of newborn.
  • Immunization for both child and mother .

A maternity coverage begins immediately, but there are some plans where you have to wait for 30 days. If you are expecting or planning to conceive, it is better to get a maternity coverage soon. The best way to buy coverage is by shopping around and comparing the prices to get the best one. You will also find information about maternity health insurance coverage on the Internet, along with several answers to your doubts regarding the policy. Because of the increasing competition, many insurance companies are now days offering deals at great prices. If you spend a few minutes on finding out and comparing the offers of different insurance companies, you will easily get the most suited policy for yourself.

When to Drop or Add Maternity Insurance Coverage?

You should get maternity coverage before you conceive and drop it on your final post pardum visit. If there is some issue of preexisting condition or an unplanned pregnancy, it is definitely going to make your choice of another health insurance plan more difficult.

Maternity Insurance Strategy

There are many families that do better by buying separate policies. It happens most of the times that the plan that will cover maternity will not cover any other unnecessary issue. For a wife, it is always better to take a separate health insurance plan, other than her husband and other family members.

Tips & Warnings

  • Pregnancy is not considered a pre-existing condition under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability act. It means that if you switch plans between this conditions there should not be any problem. However, some exceptions are also there.
  • You can contact your insurance company 30 days before childbirth, adoption or placement to request for covering the event.
  • If a child is enrolled in a health plan within 30 days of this birth or adoption, you cannot exclude him from any health situation for pre existing conditions.
 
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