Pregnancy Coverage and Health Insurance

You've gotten the great news and found out that you're pregnant, or that your wife is expecting. This means
scheduling the first prenatal check up to ensure you're on the right track for your baby. This also requires you to take a good look at your health insurance and pregnancy coverage.

What if you're between jobs when you get the news? What if you discovered your current maternity coverage isn't adequate and you want to shop for new pregnancy health insurance? Can you be denied pregnancy coverage by an insurance company who sees your pregnancy as a pre–existing condition?

The answer is no, and yes.

Protection Under HIPAA and Its Loopholes
Under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA), a health insurance company cannot consider pregnancy a preexisting condition for either the insured or the dependant. So if you are not happy with your existing policy and decide to shop for new pregnancy health insurance, your claims cannot be denied by your new insurer. While this comes as good news, you should also be aware of the law's loopholes.

You're currently pregnant, or an expectant father, and changing jobs. Your previous employer did not provide health insurance, and that left you uninsured. Then you took a new job that has a group health insurance plan. Great! Or is it?

Be aware that there could be a gap in pregnancy coverage because the law only applies to those who were already insured. The new health insurance policy may have a preexisting condition waiting period, which could last longer then the term of the pregnancy. This may cause you to pay for those initial doctor visits, or more, out of your pocket.

HIPAA is also focused on group health plans. If you go from one group health plan to another, you're fine. If you go from an individual health insurance plan to another individual plan, you may be denied immediate pregnancy coverage and endure that waiting period. The same applies if you're going from an individual plan to a group plan.

Look Before You Leap
If you're pregnant or plan on getting pregnant and have existing maternity coverage with your employer, but are considering a new employer, ask their human resources manager if you can review their pregnancy coverage to see if it is adequate. You should ask about their maternity leave policy at the same time.

Even if you're going from one group health plan to another with your new employer, standard practice involves at least a one–month waiting period before your health insurance, and pregnancy coverage, takes affect. If you're early on in your pregnancy, than a few prenatal doctor visits may not be a huge financial burden. But if you're in the last trimester, it could be expensive to cover those costs, if only for 30 days.

Not all pregnancies are planned and some bundles of joy come as a surprise. But if you are planning to get pregnant or become an expectant father in the near future, your best bet is to take a look at your current maternity coverage first and see if your policy meets your needs.

If you need to shop around for new pregnancy health insurance, speak with your insurance agent about any waiting periods involved so you can plan accordingly. And do your homework on prospective employers' health insurance policies and maternity coverage.

Learn how easy and convenient shopping for health insurance can be. Get your free health insurance online quotes today!

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