Maternity Insurance - The best time to get maternity health insurance is before you get pregnant!
Pregnancy and childbirth should be a time of rejoicing and not a time to worry about maternity expenses and debts. With sufficient maternity coverage, you'll have a peace of mind to enjoy every moment of pregnancy!
If you're working and planning to have a baby, this is the time to check on your company's policies on matters relating to maternity leave, maternity benefits & entitlements, and maternity coverage.
If you aren't working, it is prudent for you to start reviewing your Health and Medical Insurance policies before your baby arrives.
Prenatal care and maternity related costs are expensive. You should get yourself insured with a Maternity Insurance before you get pregnant. If you are pregnant with no maternity insurance, it will be difficult to find a Insurer willing to cover you then.
If you're working and planning for a pregnancy in the near future, do check with your employer whether you are covered under any Health Insurance policy with maternity coverage. Do not assume that your Health Insurance policy will automatically cover maternity care, because most of the Health Insurance policies do not include maternity coverage.
Under the law, your employer is required to grant you time off for pregnancy and childbirth. However, they're not required to pay you while you're away. A maternity coverage is important for you because you'll not only have part of your maternity expenses covered, but you'll be covered for the lost of income as well. So do check this up.
What do employers do when most Health Insurance do not provide maternity coverage? Most employers get around this problem by offering their employees a Supplemental Insurance which provides extra maternity coverage in addition to their existing Health Insurance. This Supplemental Insurance is usually a Short-Term Disability Insurance (a maternity rider) that is added to the Health Insurance. This extra rider will add to the cost of your existing Health Insurance premium.
A Short-Term Disability Plan provides basic short-term benefits coverage for non-work-related disabilities that includes pregnancy. Please don't get infuriated to the seeming suggestion that pregnancy is described as a "disability". Just take it as insurance language describing a period when you're unable to work. You'll be glad to know that this plan will replace wages you lose when you're on maternity leave. A typical policy will pay about 60% to 70% of your gross income for approximately six weeks following the birth of your child.
I hope you get the picture now. There is no such thing as a Maternity Insurance per se. It is actually a Short-Term Disability Plan that rides on your existing Health Policy.
Having explained that, there is something else you have to be aware of after you get this Maternity Insurance rider. Your maternity coverage will kick in only after 12 months. This is the general rule and this is the reason why you should get your Maternity Insurance before you get pregnant, in fact 12 months before you get pregnant.
When you're checking on your entitlements in your Maternity Insurance, or Short-term Disability Insurance as we now know, these are some of the questions you should be asking:
- What is its definition of disability? It should include pregnancy.
- What is the amount and duration of benefits? Find out how much and for how long your plan will replace wages you lose while you're on maternity leave.
- Does your Maternity Insurance rider cover pregnancy complications?
- What is the waiting period? Usually, there is a waiting period of a minimum of seven days before benefits start. The waiting period is counted from the time you're unable to work due to pregnancy till the day the disability benefits kick in.
- Does your Maternity Insurance rider allow you to return to work on a part-time basis while still receiving partial disability benefits?
- Does it cover for well-baby care?
- Does it allow your own choice of doctor to look after you or do you have to adhere to their approved list of physicians and hospitals?
If you find that your Maternity Insurance coverage lacking in any way, you may consider changing your policy during your company's Open Enrollment period.
Open-Enrollment Period
Some companies allow their employees to change their insurance at certain time of the year, called the "Open-Enrollment" period. During this period, you can switch Medical Policies quickly and easily. But please take note that when you change your policy, there is a waiting period for the coverage changes to take effect.
What if You Can't Change Your Policy?
What happens if there is no way your employer can help in enhancing your Health Insurance coverage to include maternity care?
If you can't get help from your employer, the only course of action left is to discuss payment plans with the billing manager of the hospital of your choice. The hospital may have different financial schemes to help you settle payment, perhaps in installments or whatever. They should be compassionate enough to work with you if you explain your circumstances sincerely.
Change of Job
If you have recently switched jobs, remember to ensure that pre-existing conditions are covered.
Top
If you're not working and plan to have a baby in the near future, this is the time to review your Health and Medical Insurance to make sure you have maternity coverage. You may have to get a Maternity Insurance rider to your exisitng Health and Medical policy.
Among the things you should look for in your existing policy are coverage for pregnancy checkups, delivery and new baby care. Insurance policies differ. Some Health Insurance covers well-baby care, while some won't. Check also to see if your physicians and hospital are on the approved list of the Insurer. It would be good if yours come with a flexible plan that allows you to select your desired practitioner and facility from a wide range of choices rather than from a pre-determined list.
Remember that even if you can get a Health Insurance policy that'll pay for maternity care, coverage will only be effected after you have got your policy for a year before conception.
Take into consideration also factors such as deductibles and co-payments, that is how much you have to pay out of your own pockets.
If you're thinking of giving birth at home or at a birthing center instead of a hospital, check out whether your insurance policy permits this. Since you're at it, also check out whether the coverage include other type of specialist practitioner other than the general gynaecologist. This is just in case your pregnancy becomes high-risk and you need specialist treatment.
If you are dissatisfied with your present insurance policy and would like to switch to a new one, remember to wait until you have an approval from your new Medical Insurance company before you drop your old one.
Top
The financial implications of raising a family are enormous. Besides getting a maternity insurance, it is important to have sufficient insurance coverage for all kinds of exigencies that may happen in life. This is to help safeguard your hard-earned money and provide quality care for your loved ones.
Your need for life insurance changes when you bring baby home. Besides adding baby to your Health Insurance policy as soon as he is born, you should examine all other policies to see if they are adequate. You may need to re-look into your situation and get entirely new insurance policies altogether!
As you assess your expanded family's insurance needs, don't be overwhelmed by the complexity of this topic. The subject of insurance can be very confusing. There are simply too many types of policies with varying combinations of provisions. You'll need some expert advice here.
Get in touch with a qualified financial planner or a trusted insurance agent to figure out what type and how much insurance you need to protect your family. This is a sensible thing to do.
Top
Some insurance policies require you to name your beneficiaries in a Will.
Whether it is required by your insurance policies or not, it is your responsibility as a parent to get a Will done.
We are talking about getting pregnant in this site and about maternity coverage on this page. Touch wood that we should talk about dying. But allow me to put it this way, when you become a mother, you'll love your baby in life and in death. You'll plan for his future, what life will be like for him in the event that you pass on before him when he is still little. You'll be thinking of a Will eventually.
If you have a Will, your Executor will be able to distribute your assets and arrange for child placement according to your wishes.
Without one, the court will take a long time to settle your estates. It will name a Guardian for your baby, a Trustee for your estates, and split up your assets in accordance with state law which may not be the way you would have wanted. So if you do not yet have a Will, get one quickly.
If you already had a Will done and become a parent later, you should update your old Will. Name a Guardian for your child and the Trustee of your child's inheritance. A Guardian and a Trustee can be the same person or not so if you wish.
Like getting insurance, a Will can give you a peace of mind.
Top
