A Simple Guide to Maternity Coverage and Health Reform

By Bernard Health

Pregnancy is an exciting time. As with any transition, it is even more exciting when you have the right information to prepare for it.

You’re busy taking care of yourself and preparing for the arrival of your child. Worrying about health insurance and the cost of care is the last thing you want to do.

However, it is one of the most important things to take care of.

The cost of a normal pregnancy with no complications can range anywhere from $7,000 to $20,000. Factors such as the city you live in, medications, hospital stay, prenatal care, and more can make the cost of having a baby difficult to estimate. Maybe you’re just thinking about having a baby, or maybe you’re due next month (if that’s true, congratulations!). If that sounds accurate, this is the guide for you. You probably have a lot of questions about the costs of pregnancy and maternity health insurance.

These days, with all the different health insurance options available, it can be confusing and overwhelming to find the right coverage for you. It doesn’t matter if you are uninsured, have an individual policy, or have a group policy through your employer, you will need help in covering all of your maternity expenses which can include:

·         Prenatal visits

·         Diagnostic x-rays and laboratory charges

·         Ultrasounds

·         Delivery (including use of delivery room, hospital bed and board, physician services and anesthesia)

·         Routine newborn circumcision

To sort through the confusion, we’ve developed a Maternity Guide to provide an overview of how maternity coverage works as a result of the changes implemented by health reform.

This guide includes four sections, ranging from someone who is just thinking about having a baby to someone whose baby is already here. Each section is broken down into three perspective, ranging from the person who has no health insurance at all right now to someone who has a plan through their employer. Here’s how the guide is sectioned for readers:

I’m thinking about having a baby

·         I don’t have health insurance right now

·         I have an individual plan

·         I have an employer plan

I’m pregnant and my baby is due in 2013

·         I don’t have health insurance right now

·         I have an individual plan

·         I have an employer plan

I’m pregnant and my baby is due in 2014

·         I don’t have health insurance right now

·         I have an individual plan

·         I have an employer plan

My baby is already here!

·         I don’t have health insurance right now

·         I have an individual plan

·         I have an employer plan

We encourage you to download the guide here, and hope when you’re finished reading, that we’ve given you the health care answers you need and peace of mind.

Bernard Health is a trusted national health care advisor that provides noncommissioned, expert advice on health, Medicare and COBRA insurance, and medical bill consulting. If you have additional questions, or you’d like to learn more, you can contact Bernard Health by emailing retail.bernie@bernardhealth.com or by calling 1-800-505-0750.