Insurance and Finance Blog

Getting Health Insurance For Pregnant Women {By: Tom Harkenshire}

by Tom Harkenshire

Health insurance is a necessity, that is clear to everyone. However, when dealing with pregnant woman this issue becomes even more important. This reason is obvious: clearly there is the risk of complications during pregnancy, as well as procedures that could ease the woman’s pregnancy (which can be very hard at times). Consequently, it is crucial that pregnant woman possess health insurance and regularly see a doctor for check-ups.

Unfortunately, many pregnant women do not have health insurance. It has been statistically shown that when they deliver, their babies are more likely to have low birth weight and higher incidents of death.

Getting an insurance while pregnant has become significant today because of the towering cost of health insurance in the United States. According to the American Health Association, 41 million Americans are not insured, and around 13% of pregnant women in the country do not possess any form of health insurance. This puts these women and their unborn children at risk.

Prenatal checkups can be very expensive, not to mention hospital and delivery charges which could cost $10,000 or more. Furthermore, if there are complications, such as premature birth or the woman requires a cesarean section, the costs would be much greater. Therefore, it is strongly recommended for pregnant women to find a way to obtain health insurance.

One obstacle that uninsured pregnant women face is that most companies simply do not accept them, on the grounds that the pregnant is a pre-existing condition. Although there are ways to overcome this (which we will shortly discuss), ideally if you are an uninsured woman who intends to get pregnant soon, please obtain health insurance beforehand. This may save a lot of grief (and worse) later on. The following are a few useful and practical tips on how uninsured women may obtain health insurance:

First, use all the resources at your disposal: shop around, search the internet, ask physicians. There are health insurance companies who may be able to provide pregnancy health coverage and discounted health care coverage, you just need to find them. These days it is extremely easy to obtain health insurance quotes online from a long list of providers, so use this, and you are likely to find a health insurance that will accept you.

Second, there are some federally funded programs which offer healthcare coverage for low income people. Medicaid, for example, allows you to enroll in a health insurance plan even when you are pregnant. An additional program is CHIP. Some states have specialized programs for this purpose: investigate whether your state offers one.

Third, look for additional benefits provided by other agencies. WIC is a federal agency that offers health services to low income women and children under 5, and also provides food supplements.

Finally, if you are in a position where you have several options, make sure you choose your plan carefully: choose the plan which covers all the benefits you may require. For example a hospital-only plan will not cover visits to a physicians clinic.

About the Author:
Tom Harkenshire has been dealing for decades with Health Insurance. In this article he pondered the importance of obtaining health insurance for pregnant women, and suggested ways for an uninsured woman to get health insurance. To read more articles that will help you better comprehend Health Insurance processes, visit his site, The Guide To Health.


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