My husband and I became overseas missionaries 6 months ago and, on our visit back home to DFW, we found out that we are now unexpectedly pregnant with our first. We don't know what to do, and we need your advice. We don't have insurance and we can't afford off the chart costs. What are our options in Texas and in Dallas for having the pregnancy needs met and keeping costs low? Is there insurance in Texas that we can still get? What are prenatal and delivery options? We want to know as much as possible about having our child here in Dallas so we can decide if we will have him/her here or in Asia. Please share any and all advice you might have! –Amanda
I delivered my second child at The Birth and Women's Center on Swiss Ave. The prenatal care was so much better than I got at a Dr. with my first. The price of the delivery was much, much less. All in all it turned out great.
Trinity Medical Center offers a program called
"MOMS" that can help people in your situation. Call 972.492.1010 and ask to be connected to the MOMS program. Angi can then help you. She can help you with emergency medicaid, finding an OB, getting you set up with appts and all that good stuff. Do not worry...you'd be in great hands!!!
Amanda,
First -- I can imagine how overwhelming this can all feel. This child will bless you in many ways though and the Lord knew what was going on in your life when he decided to bless you with a child.
Individual health carriers really don't offer maternity coverage any more. Even if you found one that did, it wouldn't cover an existing pregnancy that occured before the coverage began.
I would suggest you or your husband get traditional employment. Those policies WILL cover maternity. Not sure of your missionary status but one of your sponsoring churches may be able to add you as an employee and you could get covered through them. If that is not an option, that getting a job in the workplace would be the option here in the states. Perhaps this is God leading into some other area at this time in your life. I do have friends who are missionaries in Thailand. Not sure what part of Asia you are in but I know they would offer info on options there if that is helpful to you. If so, please email me at [email protected] and I'll get you their contact info. Good luck to you! We'll pray for God to provide for you and your family -- especially some peace!
I used a mid-wife for my last two children and gave birth at home. The cost is much more reasonable than having a baby in the hospital and the experience is wonderful. My midwife is Kathleen Mayorga and I think her website is www.bellabirths.com
You should qualify for WIC if your annual income is less than $32,560 (for a family of 3). See more information at:
http://www.dshs.state.tx.us/wichd/
They will provide nutritional foods for pregnant mothers & children under 5. They also provide a lot of educational information & can refer you to other programs & options you may qualify for such as Medicaid. If you qualify for Medicaid, they would cover your prenatal & birth costs.
I personally am 36 weeks pregnant & using a midwife since I don't have medical insurance. I used the same midwife with a homebirth with my first son. It was a great experience & I feel very comfortable with her medical background that she would transfer me to a hospital if there was something wrong. Her website it BellaBirths.com - Kathleen Mayorga. She just moved to the Allen Birth Center. The cost is aroung $3000 which you can make in payments
If you chose a midwife for a homebirth or a birth center & needed to go to a hospital for an emergency or other complication, the hospital could not turn you away since you didn't have insurance. Most will allow you to work out a payment plan or refer you to programs if you are considered low income.
I hope that helps. Congratulations.
I'm an insurance agent and fully understand how these things work within the medical profession. First EVERYTHING in healthcare in negotiable and almost every hospital offers a cash price for child birth. In many cases it is cheeper to have a child without insurance than with, providing there are no complications. That cash rate in the DFW area today is between $3800.00 and $5600.00 depending on the hospital. As far as insurance in concerned, there is no company other that a group plan that you could be insured on since your already pregnant. Now saying that there is a company out of New York who offers a maternity indemnity plan that pays you cash while in the hospital for your deliver as well as the medicare rate that the hospital accepts for their charges, between those two features it almost covers the entire delivery, it cost about $270 monthly. I hope this information helps and may God Bless you and your family aboundantly.
Dinah Waranch was the midwife in charge of my care for both my pregnancies. (My first was a twin birth and the second was just a singleton.) She accepts Medicaid as well as cash.
Congratulations! You have gotten som good advice too from what I have seen. I know that you can also call and find out how much it would cost to get prenatal care and what the delivery and post would be. Most drs and hospitals will give you an idea and it will be different than what an insurance will be. They usually charge more to the insurance so that they get paid. They can offer you payment plans as well. They are usually helpful if you are doing it ahead and planning. I would start with what hospital you want and doctor. I have had to this before because we weren't sure if we were going to have insurance. I also had a friend who did do that. It was helpful because they could budget it in. You can also look into free clinics around the area too. Planned parenthood can help too. They have resources and know where to send you to get the care you need. Good Luck!
You can sign up for medicaid which will cover the cost of your pregnancy and delivery. It will also provide coverage for the baby after it is born.
You should contact your local Health & Human Services Office and apply for Medicaid. I am not sure what kind of an income you have, but you may qualify for Medicaid, which would cover your prenatal care, the delivery, and the baby after he/she is born. If you don't qualify for Medicaid they may have some other options to offer you. It doesn't hurt to try. If you do qualify for Medicaid, they would also offer you food stamps to help with food costs. You can also apply for WIC (Women Infants Children) that would give you milk, beans, juice, eggs, cereal, cheese, and even fresh veggies during the summer. Don't be ashamed to go and ask for help - that is what they are there for. I know God will take care of you and your baby and everything will be fine. This baby is going to change your life - be happy and look forward to this miracle.
I had my daughter at Presbyterian Hospital in Dallas. It's at Walnut Hill & I75. They have a wonderful clinic, women's facility with private birthing rooms and a social worker on site to help with all the Medicaid paper work and whatever else you need. This was 13 years ago, but I'm sure they still provide the same quality service. Good luck and congratulations!
You should try to apply for medicaid. Medicaid pays for your doctors visits, any medicine you might need while your pregnant, delivery, sonos, and the baby will automatically be on medicaid the first year of their life. Your medicaid coverage will end after you go to the doctor for your six week check up after you have the baby. You also get to pick your own doctor. You should also try to see if you can get W.I.C. This will help you with the baby formula unless you plan on breastfeeding. With W.I.C you'll be able to get things like milk,cheese,and peanut butter now while your pregnant. And then once you have the baby you'll still be able to get those things for about six months. They'll give you vochers for baby formula, baby cereal, and juice.
Wow!! Thank you for your service to the Lord.
My husband and I qualified for medicaid that is always a possibility. Or a birthing center which would mean natural childbirth. We looked at a place in Denton, close to home, the total cost was $3500.00 included prenatal care and birth. Congratulations!! and best wishes!!
Amanda, sure go apply for medicaid, You cand choose your own doctors and hospitals as well. Also the insurance will carry over for you to choose a pecitrician. Congrats,goodluck!! And GOD BLESS Donna S.
Hi Amanda,
You more than likely would qualify for Medicaid. Financially if you meet the income bracket, you should qualify. They have Medicaid that is specifically for pregnant women. It last for 11 months for you but you will still have coverage for the baby to cover all well baby visits. Contact Health and human services department for your county and they give you more information. http://www.hhsc.state.tx.us/Help/HealthCare/Women/index.html#LowIncome
If you do not qualify for medicaid there is also CHIP. http://www.chipmedicaid.com/english/cover.htm
Feel free to contact me if you need further information. I'd be happy to help you through the process. You can email me at [email protected]'ve recently experienced this situation and know how it feels. Be strong and take courage. It is well with you.
Hi Amanda,
Congratulations on your pregnancy! Does the organization that you are missionaries for not offer any type of insurance plan? If not you can look at Medicad or I know a guy that you can talk to about insurance as well. With Medicad you will have to get a pregnancy test performed by a Dr. or Nurse to verify your pregnant. I volunteer at the Dallas Pregnancy Resource Center and we do offer Free pregnancy test for verification for medicad. This is just one of the resources that we offer. I know you want to check out all your options. Greg Hammons is who I would recommend talking to about insurance. His number is 972-601-8040. If you call him please tell him I gave you his name. If you have any questions you can email me at [email protected]
Thank you for sharing God's message to the world.
Michelle de Klerk
As someone who previously went through this not long ago, I know you may not like it, but your best option is Medicaid. THEY HAVE NO CHOICE EXCEPT TO COVER YOU BECAUSE TRADITIONAL INSURANCE WILL NOT TOUCH YOU. They will cover all your Dr. visits, any procedures, labor and delivery, and they will cover the baby for at leaset one year after the birth. They will also cover you for your visit to the OB for your follow up after you have the bay.
Most traditional insurance will not touch you as it is too expensive to take on a pregnant patient. I found out the hard way that the sales person may tell you they will, but you wont find out untill far too late that they are not going to cover any of it. I have also volunteered with the Dallas Pregnancy Resource Center, if you need any further assitance or need more questions answered or just need to talk, you can call me on my cell at 214-538-4214
You can try medicaid or ask for a charity application to a non-profit Hospital where you can deliver it should be in the county you are living. If you do qualify for charity at a non-profit Hospital and show that to the OBGYN that will deliver sometimes they will do the same for you...Good Luck and congratulations!
Amanda,
Have you ever heard of blessings in disguise? Well, you are living one.
I think you are lucky you don't have "health" insurance because it is an urban myth that it covers health anyway. All it EVER covers is disease care. Are you healthy? Do you want a healthy baby? Then stay as far away from hospitals and doctors as you can. "Common" sense in our culture tells us they offer the "best" care, but they don't. So, you would not likely consider other options but for you insurance predicament. Three cheers for your fortunate situation!!!!
Instead use a midwife for either a home birth or a birth center. I used the Allen Birthing Center www.allenbirthingcenter.com for my recent home waterbirth of my son and was ENORMOUSLY pleased with experience and outcome compared to my daughter's hospital birth. They are cheaper because they get the job done more efficiently than doctors and hospitals. Everyone wins - low costs and healthy mom and baby. They have good backup through an ob/gyn practice. There are other centers like Birth and Women's Center near Baylor Dallas.
You may also want to see this documentary before you make your decision:
http://www.pregnantinamerica.com/
Other Local resources:
http://www.homebirthdallas.org/LocalResources
Congratulations! Best of luck to you!