Health Insurance for Pregnant Women

Pregnancy is not the time for a woman to find out that her insurance coverage has lapsed or does not cover her medical expenses. During a normal pregnancy, the woman has up to 40 visits between the doctor, laboratories, ultrasound centers and the hospital. Each visit has costs associated with it, and service charges attached to each procedure. The actual delivery process is the most expensive, especially if surgery or a lengthy hospital stay is required.

Prepare

For obvious reasons, the best time to look into the insurance options is before the pregnancy is medically confirmed. However, many pregnant women are either unaware they are pregnant or they may procrastinate for some time due to their financial situation. There are options available; it just takes some research.

Contact HR

Insurance is very hard to understand for the layperson. Depending on their employer's offered plans, pregnancy is normally covered, but not always. The HR staff can explain the plan that is in effect and what it offers pertaining to the prenatal care of mother and child. This may fluctuate depending on the plan that is in effect. A portion or all of the pregnancy is usually covered, unless the plan specifically states otherwise.

How much

Standard insurance coverage requires a co-pay for each visit related to the pregnancy. This includes well-checks, blood draws at laboratories (even if the lab is within the medical practice, lab fees are usually incurred), ultrasounds, the delivery and the hospital stay. The co-pay covers either some of or all of each visit.

Schedule an appointment with an insurance rep to discuss coverage as early as possible. They are sure to know and explain what is covered and what is not.