Health Insurance Articles

Health Insurance for Pregnant Women

2010-06-01

Nearly half of American residents are uninsured and those who do have insurance are not adequately covered for their needs. This is also true for pregnant women. If an expectant mother has inadequate insurance or no insurance at all, they cannot receive the prenatal care that they need. This can result in health issues for both the mother and the baby.

When insurance companies give you a health insurance quote, they will ask you a series of questions relating to your medical history as well as your current health. If they determine that you have a pre-existing condition, this could affect your chances for coverage. Even if your application is not declined, you may find a reduction or limit in coverage or certain medical conditions may be excluded from the policy. Unfortunately, some insurance companies consider pregnancy to be a pre-existing condition. If you wait until you are pregnant to obtain a health insurance policy, you may be declined coverage and may be required to pay for all medical expenses out of pocket. These costs can be extremely high and unmanageable for most people.

There are several options available for pregnant women in different situations. If she wants to change insurance companies during the pregnancy, she can, depending on the current plan that she has. If she has a group insurance policy with one employer, it is usually not a huge problem to change to another with a different employer. The health insurance rate should not fluctuate too much. As long as her current plan covers maternity and prenatal coverage, then her new plan must allow that as well. This is required by law and is put in place to provide protection as well as peace of mind.

But, if she has an individual health insurance plan, she may have to pay an additional premium if she wants to have medical costs related to her pregnancy covered. Other options include government assistance programs, but these are usually only available for women who fall into lower income brackets. Each insurance company offers different plan variations that may or may not provide prenatal coverage for pregnant women.

It is important for a woman to have adequate health insurance in place before she even plans on becoming pregnant. In fact, the younger you are when you acquire a health insurance quote, the more likely you are to have your application accepted and the lower your rates will be. Insurance companies prefer to insure those who are healthy and not at risk for developing a serious health condition or injury. If you plan on becoming pregnant, ask your insurance agent how this can affect your health insurance rate and coverage.