Maternity Insurance? - Spring,TX

I researched this heavily when we decided we wanted baby number two about three years ago. I was only able to find two companies that offered maternity coverage through private insurance in Texas - and the names escape me right now. One of the companies had a one year waiting period - you had to have coverage for one year before they would cover any maternity expenses. The math didn't work out, it was limited on the coverage and the monthy charge was high. The second plan I found was extremely high per month and they only covered a small percentage of the costs...again the math didn't work out. It has been three years, so maybe things have changed, but I doubt it. We added me on my hubby's work insurance, got pregnant and then removed me from the policy after we had the baby. We did pay more in insurance than we wanted to that year, but it was much cheaper than private insurance.

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If you are a Christian, then there is an excellent medical sharing ministry called, Samaritans. You can find out more on their website - http://samaritanministries.org/. I am also a stay at home mom and my husband works overseas so no health insurance coverage is available to him. We have used Samaritan's for about 5 years now. We had two very high risk pregnancies which totalled $41,000 is medical bills - we were reimbursed through Samaritans 100 percent of the bills. We pay about $320 a month to be a part of it - for a family of 4. But the maternity is slightly prorated until you've been with them for a year or so - so you need to plan ahead if possible. I commend you for being a stay at home Mom - it's not easy in our economy. Blessings, D.

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If there are any plans that cover maternity, they will be very expensive.
I had my 2nd without insurance, and because of deals cut with the Dr. and hospital for pre-paying and cash paying, it was cheaper to have him without insurance than it was the other 2 with insurance.
But that was 10 years ago and a lot has changed since then.

I think you should try to get Medicaid. I was on it for all 3 of my babies and I'm still on it now (TANF level now) and I'm a SAHM. Give it a shot, worst they can do is tell you no...you won't be any worse off than you are now. I also know there's stuff like blue cross/blue shield. Hope this helps, good luck to you!

I was in the same boat. My husband is self-employed and with our firstborn, I was employed full-time so I had insurance. Now we have high deductible insurance w/Assurant health and you have to have the maternity coverage 9 months before you get pregnant. The agent I talked to at the time (before I got pregnant w/#2) suggested just saving my money during the pregnancy - that it would be cheaper that way. The baby's covered as soon as it's born. So that's what I ended up doing. I ended up having complications in delivery and had an emergency c-section but at the end of the day, I was able to negotiate with all the doctors, the hospital, labs, etc. Total ended up costing about $10,000, which if you save during your pregnancy won't shock you at the end. The only real sticklers I found were the labs. Hospital and doctors didn't hesitate to cut 50-75% off their fees. Good luck!!

I have Blue Cross/Blue Shield and I was on the 90/10 plan when I was pregnant and it was awesome.
Unfortunately, they no longer have the 90/10 plan, so any future pregnancies will have to be 80/20.
I also had short term disability insurance that covered me while I was out on maternity leave. Because I had a c-section, they paid me for being out of work for 10 weeks rather than the standard 6.

My husband is self employed also. He got insurance with Scott and White. The minimum number of employees (at the time) was 3. They had materity coverage. Great doctors and great hospital. Give them a try.

Most health insurance policies include pregnancy coverage as long as it's not a "pre-existing condition" when you apply for the insurance. It's generally a good idea to make sure you read the fine print and make sure you wait the designated length of time before becoming pregnant in order for them to cover it.

Most self-insurance companies have a maternity 'rider' that you can just add on to your existing policy - all you have to do is ask.

However, - until the healthcare reforms change stuff, be prepared to pay for the policy for anywhere from 6 mo - 1 year before you can become pregnant. it's their way of actually getting money out of you.

I looked into this through Bluecare - BCBS and it was like an additional $500/mo to add on maternity. so definitely check around.

You also might want to find out about state insurance - depending on your income level you might qualify. Illinois has insurance that they can provide for incomes of various levels - it amounts to an HMO, so you don't have a choice about your Dr and where you deliver - you have to pick from their list, but something is better than nothing, right?

Good Luck

I'm in same situation as u being SAHM and hubby is self employed, we had difficult time finding 1 as well, but finally found assurant health/cigna..it has a bit of high premium, but we got it in hopes of getting pregnant, but it's been a yr and we could've prob paid 4 hospital in cash by now w/ what we've been paying 4 insurance! :-/ Good luck!

Get insurance before you get pregnant because it is a pre existing condition! I don't know about your state but most states have some type of insurance for self employed people and their families.

Depending on income, you might qualify for Medicaid insurance. I've had friends in similar situations (SAHM, dad works) who used it for their pregnancies and also covers children. Medicaid is a federal program, but might have options within the state. I searched "Medicaid for pregnant women in Texas" and it took me right to the website for that info. It sounds like it is a managed care insurance plan.

Please see S.B.'s advice below - maternity coverage differs per state and she is correct about TX - the options are slim. I did this research a couple of years ago for a friend and the insurance available (Humana was one of them) had very long waiting periods plus very high premiums - did not make sense financially. You are much better off if you or your husband can get a job temporarily (just for the pregnancy) in order to join a group plan, or even a part-time job (Starbucks, Home Depot, UPS etc - many of these companies offer full health benefits to part time employees). Otherwise you will be better off paying cash with a midwife or birthing facility - but this only works if you have a healthy normal pregnancy. Any complications that send you to the hospital will be uninsured and ultimately medical debt. My best advice is that one of you get a job with a group plan asap knowing that you can got back to your prior status of self-employed/SAHM after baby arrives. That is what my friend did - she had to put her existing kids in childcare during that time but it was worth it in the long run as she her 3rd pregnancy had complications and hospital stays that were paid by her group plan (but wouldve they would have ended up thousands of dollars in debt if they had not had the insurance). That or you could move out of TX into a more "maternity insurance" - friendly state.

I'm an agent and in Texas, there is only one company that I'm aware of that will write maternity on an individual plan. The deductible on that particular plan is high enough that you could probably work out a cash price with the hospital for less than you would pay out of pocket, not to mention the monthly premium you would be shelling out as well. Talk to the hospital - a lot of times they will work with you on a discounted cash price.