Health Insurance alternatives

[Jazzzy]

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@llecs wrote:

Good news: DW and I are expecting #4.

Bad news: Our new health insurance policy (Anthem) won't cover this pregnancy. We have to pay out of pocket.

Does anyone know of any good programs out there that'll supplement what health ins. does not? We are looking at all options including shopping around for a second policy with second insurer.

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IIlecs, congratulations on the new little one. My husband and I had 4...but then someone approached us and asked if we'd "raise another one." So...we adopted, and now we have 5. That little one is now 16. We are almost empty nesters. Enjoy every minute of it.

As you well know and have experienced, our country is in trouble concerning healthcare. Things just haven't gotten bad enough yet for anything to be done about it. So, for now, we endure.

I would recommend that you start sitting down with the doctor's office, the hospital, etc. In all honesty, however, I don't know how much good this will do because many of the individuals you will deal with will not have the decision-making capacity. The payment and billing trails are long and winding.

Best advice: Start saving money. Make sure you have payment plans negotiated and agreed to in writing so that you don't "think" you've got an agreement only to find out that you don't. This will be very expensive. What you have to do is try to prevent any current and future credit damage.

I wish you the best.

[rosa29617]

I'm don't know how far along you are in your pregnancy but I was thinking since having a baby is not a critical health issue, you may want to consider having the baby at home with a mid-wife. That is if past three pregnancies were without issues, you may find it cost effective. I've watched the shows on the TLC channel where many couples have chosen to deliver their baby at home; and use the hospital only if there was an emergency during the delivery, or a c-section was necessary. There have been many successes. I think its worth looking into, considering how much money you can save. Explore all of your options.

[haulingthescoreup]

I had my first in a hospital with an MD, the second in a birthing center with a certified nurse-midwife, and the third at home with a lay midwife. The midwife-assisted births were much, much better.

But they're definitely not for everyone, and I certainly freaked out the relatives. They still mention it at times, and the two midwife-assisted babies are now 24 and 22!

[llecs]

UPDATE:

Thank goodness for preparation. Only 10-11 weeks left. For the past 6+ months, her OB kept asking for her health card and accepted it and even told her there was no copay. For the past 6 months we haven't paid a dime, other than paying for some tests, but we've been saving like mad. We thought the health insurance company has been paying the bill despite telling us to the contrary. Well, we came clean with the OB and told them that we don't think our health insurance is covering anything. The OB never came to us and asked for any money and through some sort of accounting snafu on their end, this could have continued through the end us the pregnancy. Turns out their computers showed that everything was paid by insurance even though it wasn't.

They appreciated us coming forward and we negotiated a price of $3200 for the entire 9 months, minus labs. I don't know what an OB costs for a pregnancy, but $3200 seemed really low. I wasn't one to question it and we paid half last week and we owe the remaining in April. That would completely cover everything on their end. We also talked about the hospital visit. They suggest we keep on saving and don't prepay the hospital out of concern the hospital may redirect us to another facility where the OB cannot deliver. But they told us to come to the table on the day of admission and pony up all that we can and negotiate a short-term payment plan for the rest. They hinted that the cost would be $5000-$7000 depending on the situation and could go up if a C-section, etc. That seems low to me too.

Out of concern of this not being insurable, we saved about $1000/mo since day one. We mentally estimated about $12k-$15k for everything and it feels good to have #4 come into this world debt free.

[laz98]

great job!  congratulations on your almost-here little one

[Anonymous]

DW and I are on Assurant. We're paying about $940 a month, plus about another $90 a month through Regence for dental.

[Anonymous]

I was super lucky; I was able to buy an individual plan for my wife with crazy good coverage and low deductibles through Kaiser.  I got it about 2 years ago, and though it has gone up in price its still cheap!  She is in her 20s, and in perfect health, so I'm sure thats why I only pay $167 per month.

We were told by our insurance agent that the plan was as good as gold, and to never get rid of it no matter what.

Funny thing is they made her take a pregnancy test before they gave her the insurance.... guess this whole topic is why. 

[llecs]

Final update:

Kid#4 (DD#2) was born on Monday and it went great. We paid for the entire thing with cash and have no CC debt because of it. Feels good. Because we were paying with cash, the hospital gave us a 35% discount (kinda gives you an idea on the health insurer expense) and we're just waiting for the check to clear. The only bill we have yet to pay for is the anethesiologist (sp?), but that's forthcoming. We immediately signed back on to Anthem and should be golden here on out.

[Imhotrodcrazy]

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@llecs wrote:

Final update:

Kid#4 (DD#2) was born on Monday and it went great. We paid for the entire thing with cash and have no CC debt because of it. Feels good. Because we were paying with cash, the hospital gave us a 35% discount (kinda gives you an idea on the health insurer expense) and we're just waiting for the check to clear. The only bill we have yet to pay for is the anethesiologist (sp?), but that's forthcoming. We immediately signed back on to Anthem and should be golden here on out.

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Congrats on the birth of your child.  I am truly glad that everything worked out for you.  I was amazed at what it is costing to have a child today.  It's been 45 years since our son was born, he is our youngest.   As I recall, it cost us about $350 for the hospital and about $125 for the doctor, and to think I worried about paying that bill.  Things sure have changed.   I wish you and yours all the best.  There is no greater  blessing in this world than a child. 

[MidnightVoice]

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@Imhotrodcrazy wrote:

 I was amazed at what it is costing to have a child today.  It's been 45 years since our son was born, he is our youngest.   As I recall, it cost us about $350 for the hospital and about $125 for the doctor, and to think I worried about paying that bill.  Things sure have changed.   I wish you and yours all the best.  There is no greater  blessing in this world than a child. 

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My daughter was born under the dreaded British socialized medical system, and it included 2 weeks in hospital and operations.  Didn't cost a cent.