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Stressed about insurance!

Naomi - posted on 02/25/2010 ( 4 moms have responded )

I need a place to vent...

My husband lost his job at the end of November. I was about 4 months pregnant at the time. COBRA premiums were WAY too expensive to be affordable on his unemployment and my part-time salary (along with just trying to make ends meet). So, our 2-year-old son and I went on Medicaid to get us through until my husband finds another job.

He's had a few good prospects come up recently. But I'm now only 2 months away from delivering our second son. Any job he finds will push us above the Medicaid income guidelines, and his new insurance wouldn't kick in until after the baby was born. Private insurance companies won't write me a policy that would cover the pregnancy because I'm not coming off a COBRA policy.

I just feel like what should be a really exciting time has become an incredibly stressful one. We need my husband to be working again, but we can't afford to not have insurance when there will be some pretty expensive hospital bills coming up soon!

Has anyone else been in this situation before?

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Staci - posted on 03/26/2010

240

Check with your social worker at the Medicaid office. There may be an option to do a spend-down plan if your husband gets a job before the baby arrives. I am sure they have advice to offer since I doubt you are the first person with this scenario...

The other thing to do is contact your hospital and find out how to qualify for their assistance programs. Do your homework now...don't wait until the bill comes. A lot of times, if you get a big bill, they will happily accept a lower amount on the bill if you can make good faith payments on it. When my dad was hospitalized without health insurance, he only ended up having to pay 1/3 of the bill...

Char - posted on 03/24/2010

243

Our company went through lay offs and dropped health coverage because we were no longer eligible for a group plan. My husbands company did not offer coverage for families. Despite my and hubby's income I applied for medicaid, wrote a letter to the state and provided a letter from my employer and was awarded Medicaid coverage.

Since any job your husband gets most likely will not offer medical benefits until after his 90 day probationary period, you should still be eligible for coverage. Also in this economy, depening on the company, they may not offer extended coverage to families or offer it at a high cost again placing you in a position where you could continue to be eligible for medicaid.

Don't stress! It will work out.

Kim - posted on 03/09/2010

I know in Missouri once a pregnant women is on medicaid (not temp) she says on no matter what income after she is accepted. Then 2 months after delivery they go to STD/Birth control only. Also, we have state plans we can buy into for your oldest dependent on your poverty level. Something to ask about or look up on your states website.

Lindsay - posted on 02/25/2010

542

I haven't been in that situation, but I am experiencing plenty of insurance pains myself!

I have a high risk pregnancy, I was on progesterone supplements for the first trimester that insurance refused to cover because they felt they weren't "medically necessary" even though a history of miscarriage showed they were.

Then, because my daughter was born at only 27 weeks I made the choice to deliver and be seen at an out of network hospital (it is the closest with both an amazing maternity floor,and a top notch NICU). They will not cover anything for that hospital until we meet out "out of network" deductable which is ridiculous. This I understand. I have also been on Progesterone injections weekly since 16 weeks to prevent preterm labor (one of the causes of my daughter's birth) and they refuse to pay for those because THEY feel they aren't necessary. I also had a cerclage placed at 22 weeks when I started dilating, and they are not covering that either!

We have shown them the almost $300,000 in NICU bills my daughter had, but still they are refusing to pay the few thousand for all these other preventative measures. Insurance companies just cause more frustration than they're worth sometimes!