Anonymous
10/26/2021 14:16
Subject: Re:Insurance and open enrollment
Insurance covered everything pregnancy and birth related. Added kids immediately after birth. Don't forget to add then to your vision and dental, too!
Anonymous
10/26/2021 14:15
Subject: Insurance and open enrollment
You don’t need the SSN to add your newborn but do make sure you adhere to the deadline. A coworker was a few days late and they had a lot of headaches while resolving the situation.
Anonymous
10/26/2021 13:18
Subject: Insurance and open enrollment
Anonymous wrote:Children can't be added until after they are born, and you usually have 30 days to do it (and any expenses they incur will be covered retroactively).
It's been a while, but I think I needed to have their ss# to add them, and that takes a little while to get. It's possible I added them and then called back to add their ss#. I do remember that I was annoyed that I had to submit something in writing certifying that I was the kid's legal mother because we have different last names. If we'd had the same last name a phone call would have been all that was needed.
I handle benefits for my company and we do not need SSN to add the baby to the plan. Please please please add the baby within 30 days of the birth, you can give the SSN once you receive it (generally 6-8 weeks after baby is born).
Anonymous
10/26/2021 12:38
Subject: Insurance and open enrollment
You have to add the child after they are born, usually within 30 day. I just sent in the proofs of birth to HR and it was done very smoothly. We have BCBS.
Anonymous
10/26/2021 12:25
Subject: Re:Insurance and open enrollment
Another vote for Kaiser. I ended up with an emergency C and still had $0 out of pocket. I live in Silver Spring and used the Midwives at WHC (billed thru Kaiser). Holy Cross was also in-network and more convenient location-wise but didn't have the option to use a midwife.
Anonymous
10/26/2021 11:28
Subject: Re:Insurance and open enrollment
Anonymous wrote:I'd choose the best labor/delivery and hospital stay benefit you can afford. If your kid ends up in the NICU, you want good insurance. If you have a c-section, you don't want to pay 80% co-insurance.
Keep in mind that once the baby is born, costs incurred in the hospital for the baby will be... under the baby's part of the policy. I know this sounds intuitive, but if you're thinking costs for labor/delivery for you only, you're missing a piece of the puzzle. The kid will have to meet the new deducible for him/her individually (unless you've already maxed out the deductible as a family by then). For this reason, a high family deductible and a high individual deductible aren't ideal.
For the year my kid was delivered, we went with the Open Choice HMO (you choose your docs, but there's no out of network coverage). Pretty much everything was covered at 100%. We switched back to a regular PPO afterward. But it was worth it that year to have such great maternity/delivery coverage! (do beware, however, of docs who are "out-of-network" working at "in-network" hospitals. I can't believe it's still a thing.)
Also, be sure to check out if your OB/GYN and hospital are in-network. I also checked some hospitals where my family lives, as I'd be visiting them for the holidays and wanted to be sure there was an in-network option if anything went wrong. I was shocked that one carrier was not in network for any of that city's hospitals.
+1 If Kaiser is an option and it works for your family otherwise, it's excellent for costs associated with child birth. We paid $0 out of pocket and there were no surprises. The biggest issue is they limit which hospitals you can deliver at, so that's something to look at ahead of time, for example you can't deliver at Sibley or Shady Grove Adventist.
Anonymous
10/26/2021 11:15
Subject: Re:Insurance and open enrollment
I'd choose the best labor/delivery and hospital stay benefit you can afford. If your kid ends up in the NICU, you want good insurance. If you have a c-section, you don't want to pay 80% co-insurance.
Keep in mind that once the baby is born, costs incurred in the hospital for the baby will be... under the baby's part of the policy. I know this sounds intuitive, but if you're thinking costs for labor/delivery for you only, you're missing a piece of the puzzle. The kid will have to meet the new deducible for him/her individually (unless you've already maxed out the deductible as a family by then). For this reason, a high family deductible and a high individual deductible aren't ideal.
For the year my kid was delivered, we went with the Open Choice HMO (you choose your docs, but there's no out of network coverage). Pretty much everything was covered at 100%. We switched back to a regular PPO afterward. But it was worth it that year to have such great maternity/delivery coverage! (do beware, however, of docs who are "out-of-network" working at "in-network" hospitals. I can't believe it's still a thing.)
Also, be sure to check out if your OB/GYN and hospital are in-network. I also checked some hospitals where my family lives, as I'd be visiting them for the holidays and wanted to be sure there was an in-network option if anything went wrong. I was shocked that one carrier was not in network for any of that city's hospitals.
Keep in mind that once the baby is born, costs incurred in the hospital for the baby will be... under the baby's part of the policy. I know this sounds intuitive, but if you're thinking costs for labor/delivery for you only, you're missing a piece of the puzzle. The kid will have to meet the new deducible for him/her individually (unless you've already maxed out the deductible as a family by then). For this reason, a high family deductible and a high individual deductible aren't ideal.
For the year my kid was delivered, we went with the Open Choice HMO (you choose your docs, but there's no out of network coverage). Pretty much everything was covered at 100%. We switched back to a regular PPO afterward. But it was worth it that year to have such great maternity/delivery coverage! (do beware, however, of docs who are "out-of-network" working at "in-network" hospitals. I can't believe it's still a thing.)
Also, be sure to check out if your OB/GYN and hospital are in-network. I also checked some hospitals where my family lives, as I'd be visiting them for the holidays and wanted to be sure there was an in-network option if anything went wrong. I was shocked that one carrier was not in network for any of that city's hospitals.
Anonymous
10/26/2021 10:08
Subject: Insurance and open enrollment
Children can't be added until after they are born, and you usually have 30 days to do it (and any expenses they incur will be covered retroactively).
It's been a while, but I think I needed to have their ss# to add them, and that takes a little while to get. It's possible I added them and then called back to add their ss#. I do remember that I was annoyed that I had to submit something in writing certifying that I was the kid's legal mother because we have different last names. If we'd had the same last name a phone call would have been all that was needed.
It's been a while, but I think I needed to have their ss# to add them, and that takes a little while to get. It's possible I added them and then called back to add their ss#. I do remember that I was annoyed that I had to submit something in writing certifying that I was the kid's legal mother because we have different last names. If we'd had the same last name a phone call would have been all that was needed.
Anonymous
10/26/2021 10:05
Subject: Insurance and open enrollment
If you weren't already signed up for short term disability before you got pregnant you probably won't qualify for benefits. I did get short term disability before I got pregnant, but it took a while to get pregnant, so I ended up paying in more to the policy than the benefits, so it wasn't worth it.
We have Kaiser. I forget what we had to submit to add DD to the health insurance but it was not anything we had to do ahead of time. She automatically had coverage immediately after birth, at some point I think they needed her birth certificate and SS card.
My biggest issue was after I gave birth our HR was super unhelpful about what I needed to do with my leave and how to fill out my timecard given FMLA. I remember trying to e-mail them while exhausted and nursing DD. I had gotten pre-approval for FMLA but since DD arrived a week early they were like "you're not approved" and I was like "okay, what would you like me to do?". They needed the discharge papers from the hospital I believe, I don't know why they didn't just tell me that.
We have Kaiser. I forget what we had to submit to add DD to the health insurance but it was not anything we had to do ahead of time. She automatically had coverage immediately after birth, at some point I think they needed her birth certificate and SS card.
My biggest issue was after I gave birth our HR was super unhelpful about what I needed to do with my leave and how to fill out my timecard given FMLA. I remember trying to e-mail them while exhausted and nursing DD. I had gotten pre-approval for FMLA but since DD arrived a week early they were like "you're not approved" and I was like "okay, what would you like me to do?". They needed the discharge papers from the hospital I believe, I don't know why they didn't just tell me that.
kshin29
10/26/2021 09:46
Subject: Insurance and open enrollment
Wondering what y'all did for insurance and open enrollment when you were expecting? When did you have to add your child to your insurance? Did you max out your HSA/FSA? Short or long term disability? Anything you wish you'd elected to do that you didn't? Also, what questions are good to ask HR? Thanks! (will cross-post)