Ah, Maternity Insurance
When I had my oldest son, Jake, I was part of a very nifty HMO. I know HMO’s get a bad rep for lots of people, but as someone who never went to the doctor except to get my annual prescription of birth control pills and then to get routine maternity care (with ol’ Doc Hwang, who I love dearly), I LOVED it.
I paid a whopping total of $250 for the entire 9-10 months of pregnancy. That includes the five day hospital stay, scheduled delivery, anesthesia, etc…
I did it again, 26 months later with Brian. But this time, my maternity insurance was not as terrific. You see, my school district had switched to a PPO which meant I paid $3,000 for the same exact treatment and delivery. I was (and still am) NOT impressed. Obviously others pay much more, but coming off $250 with literally everything (except the baby) the same, it was most insulting.
Now that I’ve quit teaching for the year, I’m off school insurance, and have gotten the entire family separate insurance. The only catch is, you can’t get standard maternity insurance in Texas without a business plan or through a low income program – and no, we don’t qualify for that.
I’ve recently discovered that there are international maternity insurance plans that might work in Texas, but let’s hope the little pack of pills keeps working and I don’t need maternity insurance for at least another three years!
Interestingly I discovered at the same time, there is even IVF coverage with some insurance plans. I didn’t realize there was even insurance for that, and even though I haven’t struggled with fertility, I know my neighbors who are still paying for $50,000 worth of IVF treatments they had two years ago for their twins wouldn’t have minded having it around.
The bottom line?
Maternity insurance is absolutely critical. I had never been the doctor more than one a year and suddenly I was going once a month and then once a week! I was admitted to a hospital for the first time, and had major surgery for the first time – I’d say the first, second and last time, but there is definitely a tummy tuck in my future.
Pregnancy, and especially delivery, can be very expensive even with decent maternity insurance, so be sure you research what your insurance covers before becoming pregnant. Be sure to compare your plan to your significant other’s. Also research what other plans your state allows and even if you qualify for state assistance. The less you pay in medical bills, the more you have to spend on the real costs of parenthood – diapers, formula, and adorable clothes you can’t help but keep buying.
