Get the Insurance before you get pregnant! PLEASE!

I get this call about 3 times a week.

HELP. I/My Wife/My Girlfriend/a friend of mine is pregnant and we need health insurance.

Look - no individual health plan will pick up a pregnant woman - at least, none that I know of. Most individual health plans don't even cover a normal pregnancy anyway. This really is something to consider. Having kids is expensive. It even gets more expensive after they are born.

The thing is...most individual plans will not even begin coverage on ANYBODY IN THE FAMILY - if the woman is pregnant. It's rough, but true. Why? Well, if they cover the dad, then they have to pick up the baby as soon as it's born without underwriting. That's fine - they will do that if the parents have coverage before the prengancy - AFTER THE PREGNANCY, YOU HAVE TO WAIT UNTIL THE BABY IS BORN. (whew, sorry for shouting).

If you are pregnant, and do not have any coverage, you have a couple of options. You can look at Medicaid, but you have to meet low income guidelines. I understand that the guidelines are a little more relaxed for pregnant women, but you would have to check with your state medicaid office.

You may still be able to get on a group plan. I am lead to believe that group plans cannot consider pregnancy a pre-existing condition. Of course, you would have to have a job (or a spouse with a job) that provided group coverage.

Otherwise, you can join a network - not insurance, that at least would give you negotiated rates for services. We all know that insurance companies pay much less for services than uninsured people pay (or at least get billed for).

Whatever...it is much better to consider the expense of a pregnancy before doing the deed. Accidents do happen.

You may also consider Maternity Card. They will provide network discounts, the names of doctors and hospitals that are willing to work with uninsured pregnant women, etc. MATERNITY CARD AND AHCO WEBSITE