Maternity Insurance

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here. Leg cramp woke me up, fuming about health insurance kept me up!

Thanks for all your replies. In the last few months I have discovered health insurance is indeed broken! I cannot get maternity insurance and don't qualify for any government coverage. For those who asked, I get my insurance through my husband who buys it independently and is partially reimbursed by his employer.

Here's what makes me mad!

BlueCross BlueShield does provide a maternity "rider" under my plan, read the fine print, I missed this when I was shopping for plans. The rider costs $127 monthly, I would have paid $3,048 in the 24 months that I've had the plan.
The maximum that BCBS will pay for maternity services even with this rider is $3,000.
The average vaginal hospital birth without complications is $6,000, that excludes the cost of prenatal care.
I would have gone home with whooping hospital bill even with insurance! Thanks BlueCross!

So in the 24 months that I have held this policy our fit healthy family of three who eats organic and excises regularly has paid BCBS $11,688. For what... vaccinations, flu shots, annual check-ups and a twisted ankle.

I delayed prenatal care, opted for non-hospital birth and have been caused huge stress and worry while BCBS makes money hand over fist from my healthy little family...

Yup, the system is broken.

Thanks DCUMs now I can go back to sleep!

This is why families should take a close look at high deductible low premium policies.

This is irrelevant to the issue here. There are few such individual plans offered to DC residents. None that are offered cover more than the $3000 cited above.

[Anonymous]

There are no reliable studies that prove, in the US, that hospital births are safer than home or birth center births when the mom is considered low-risk and has had a normal pregnancy. Please don't disregard this option based on anectdotal evidence only.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:There are no reliable studies that prove, in the US, that hospital births are safer than home or birth center births when the mom is considered low-risk and has had a normal pregnancy. Please don't disregard this option based on anectdotal evidence only.

I agree, but the woman I mentioned had a previous normal vaginal delivery. Yes it is anecdotal, but her feeling of guilt is tremendous. OP should not be making a decision like that based on cost. If she were making that decision for other reasons, then fine. Also, certain prenatal studies help determine whether or not a woman is low risk. I suppose that the midwife could do many of the studies on her own, but some require expertise from specialists.