How does a midwife work with insurance?

[Anonymous]

I think I found a midwife I'd like to see for prenatal visits and have deliver my baby. She works out of a local hospital. Does anyone know how this works with insurance? My current OB practice is a "preferred provider" which is great because that means I pay nothing, and I need to figure out how my insurance would pay if I switched to this midwife.

[Anonymous]

Call your insurance company or the MW billing office (if they have one).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think I found a midwife I'd like to see for prenatal visits and have deliver my baby. She works out of a local hospital. Does anyone know how this works with insurance? My current OB practice is a "preferred provider" which is great because that means I pay nothing, and I need to figure out how my insurance would pay if I switched to this midwife.

Is the midwife with your doc. ob/gyn practice or a separate thing? My doc. office has two midwives that are "interchangable" with the docs (they can do everything except surgery like c/s, laproscopy, hyster, etc.) and are employed by the practice so for right now (only visits so for) it's been fine.

You should call your insur. com. though. It can be splitting hairs sometimes with these types of things.

[Anonymous]

I was considering switching to a "non-preferred" midwife practice, and my health insurance (Blue Cross Blue Shield) said they would pay 75% of the expenses (rather than 100%) b/c I wasn't using a "preferred" provider. Call your insurance. Also ask the midwife if she bills the insurance co's or how her other patients have handled it.

[Anonymous]

My midwife accepts my insurance but wasn't listed as a prefered provider. However, the hospital where she is facutly is a prefered provider and she bills under their tax ID number so she is covered as if she was a prefered provider. Clear as mud?

[Anonymous]

Ask the midwife. She is the only one who is going to be able to truly clarify this for you.

[Anonymous]

OP here -- thanks for your responses. the situation is a bit murky because she has a solo practice but is affiliated with a hospital. She told me she bills through the hospital but I wanted to confirm. After numerous calls to the hospital and my insurance provider it appears that the tax ID under which she bills is indeed a preferred provider, thankfully. I am thrilled to know it won't cost me any more out of pocket than the OB practice that I am leaving!