Expecting and I just found out I don't qualify for short term disability. America is not pro-life/pro-birth

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If that timing is true, and I would encourage you to write a justification and ask your doctor to send it to the short-term disability insurance company. If what you’re saying is true then there is no way you could have known you were pregnant until the enrollment window began.

You think that will make a difference since they go based on conception or the last missed period? I'll still try, though, because as you said, I didn't know I was pregnant until open enrollment started.

This seems rather gender discriminatory. Are there any pre-existing condition exclusions in their fine print? If not, I would make an eloquent fuss about this.

The language and contract provisions that OP is running into are very standard.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So how far along were you on November 23?

8 weeks. I took a pregnancy test on 11/1, but because they go off missed period (October 25) or time of conception (October 10-11), I don't qualify.

Right. Because they don’t want people finding out they’re pregnant during open enrollment, and then signing up. Which frankly sounds like exactly what you did.

Short Term Disability insurance is insurance. It’s for things you don’t know are coming up, and also (because the US kinda sucks) for having babies.

Don’t turn it down in the future. It’s there in case you need it - whether you’re with the employer for a month, or for decades.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:^^ no one finds out they are pregnant at their doctors appointment. It sounds like you knew you were pregnant, signed up for a short-term disability, delayed your doctors appointment a few weeks and are trying to get sympathy for attempting to game the system. You knew your company did not offer short-term disability. And you got pregnant knowing this and thought you could just sign up before it came to light. I mean it stinks for sure but I also understand the insurance company’s point of view

This.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So how far along were you on November 23?

8 weeks. I took a pregnancy test on 11/1, but because they go off missed period (October 25) or time of conception (October 10-11), I don't qualify.

Right. Because they don’t want people finding out they’re pregnant during open enrollment, and then signing up. Which frankly sounds like exactly what you did.

Short Term Disability insurance is insurance. It’s for things you don’t know are coming up, and also (because the US kinda sucks) for having babies.

Don’t turn it down in the future. It’s there in case you need it - whether you’re with the employer for a month, or for decades.

You make it sound like she did something nefarious. Finding out that you’re pregnant a few days into open enrollment is just pure bad luck. If she’s due July 4th, that timeline makes sense. Going based off a last missed period, which happened to be only a couple of days prior to open enrollment, is again, bad luck, not something fraudulent like you’re making it out to be.

[Anonymous]

They can’t stop you from taking fmla.

[Anonymous]

I dependent contractors do not qualify for FMLA. If OP works for a jobshopper company then perhaps as their employee.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I dependent contractors do not qualify for FMLA. If OP works for a jobshopper company then perhaps as their employee.

I’m a W-2 contractor, so I qualify for FMLA. The unpaid part is the issue.

[Anonymous]

I'm trying to follow but I don't understand. Open enrollment in Oct/Nov would have been for 2026. OP found out she was pregnant in Nov 2025. She did not have STD at the time she found out she was pregnant. Why would insurance cover her now?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm trying to follow but I don't understand. Open enrollment in Oct/Nov would have been for 2026. OP found out she was pregnant in Nov 2025. She did not have STD at the time she found out she was pregnant. Why would insurance cover her now?

Open enrollment started 10/27/25.
Took a pregnancy test 11/1/25.
Due 7/4/26.

STD was denied even though she didn’t know she was pregnant when open enrollment started.

[Anonymous]

Well, OP, now you know your privilege to have never had to plan ahead for care or coverage. Hard lesson learned.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm trying to follow but I don't understand. Open enrollment in Oct/Nov would have been for 2026. OP found out she was pregnant in Nov 2025. She did not have STD at the time she found out she was pregnant. Why would insurance cover her now?

Open enrollment started 10/27/25.
Took a pregnancy test 11/1/25.
Due 7/4/26.

STD was denied even though she didn’t know she was pregnant when open enrollment started.

She should’ve signed up when first eligible. Her first mistake was right there. The next mistake is thinking that very black and white contract terms don’t apply to her. A late entrant onto a voluntary STD Plan is going to have some sort of pre-ex clause assessed on them. The way that the insurance is written to avoid people joining when they only need it and then dropping it at the first opportunity.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm trying to follow but I don't understand. Open enrollment in Oct/Nov would have been for 2026. OP found out she was pregnant in Nov 2025. She did not have STD at the time she found out she was pregnant. Why would insurance cover her now?

Open enrollment started 10/27/25.
Took a pregnancy test 11/1/25.
Due 7/4/26.

STD was denied even though she didn’t know she was pregnant when open enrollment started.

She should’ve signed up when first eligible. Her first mistake was right there. The next mistake is thinking that very black and white contract terms don’t apply to her. A late entrant onto a voluntary STD Plan is going to have some sort of pre-ex clause assessed on them. The way that the insurance is written to avoid people joining when they only need it and then dropping it at the first opportunity.

The bigger issue here how little care women receive. Please stop.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Are you in DC? Could you be eligible for paid family leave?

VA :/

Paid family doesn’t go into effect until 2029

Do you work in DC? If so, I think you're still eligible for something. I live in VA, but DH works in DC, and he got 6 weeks paid from DC. It wasn't equal to his salary, but it was something.

[Anonymous]

I am missing something - why didn't OP just sign up for it if annually if she knew there was a possibility of getting pregnant? It ended up taking me 3 years of ivf to get pregnant, but I had signed up for a std policy each year with the hopes I would need it. I must be missing something here?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I am missing something - why didn't OP just sign up for it if annually if she knew there was a possibility of getting pregnant? It ended up taking me 3 years of ivf to get pregnant, but I had signed up for a std policy each year with the hopes I would need it. I must be missing something here?

See page 2