Prenatal Insurance Alternatives for the Underinsured

As many as thirteen percent of women who become pregnant are in need of prenatal insurance alternatives because they are underinsured or not insured at all.  This number can even rise when you consider that some health insurance companies consider pregnancy a pre-existing condition and, therefore, refuse to pay many of the costs of pregnancy.  Highest among such costs is delivery, which can run as high as six thousand dollars to eight thousand dollars, and even more for high-risk pregnancies.  For many women, the joy of finding themselves pregnant quickly dissolves in the face of the financial difficulties a pregnancy can cause.  This is why it is important to know about prenatal insurance alternatives.

Medicaid is a federally funded program administered by each state.  Medicaid will accept women who are already pregnant, but you must meet low-income requirements to qualify.  Some states also provide prenatal insurance alternatives for low-income women as part of their budget.  To find out more about the opportunities for prenatal insurance alternatives in your state, contact the department of Health offices.

WIC (Women, Infants, and Children) is a federal agency that provides aid to help protect the health interests of women, infants, and children.  WIC is a prenatal insurance alternative in that it will provide nourishing foods, healthy eating information, and health referrals.

Some local communities will provide prenatal health care to those in need through religious and charitable organizations.  Contact your local representatives and ask them about prenatal insurance alternatives and pregnancy clinics.

AmeriPlan is a very viable prenatal insurance alternative.  AmeriPlan is a discount health care plan available throughout the United States, with the exception of Alaska.  Since it is not an insurance company there are no restrictions on pre-existing conditions.  As a prenatal insurance alternative, AmeriPlan can offer you physicians’ services, hospital services, and ancillary care (things like lab tests and x-rays) for around fifty percent less than standard costs.  AmeriPlan has no deductibles, annual limits, waiting periods, or claim forms.

There are also other prenatal insurance alternatives that you can consider.  For instance, you can contact a physician’s billing department prior to making an appointment and explain your situation.  You may be able to make payment arrangements on installments for your prenatal health care.  Another option, if you have little or no prenatal insurance, is to think about delivering your child at a birthing center.  A birthing center delivery usually costs around three thousand to four thousand dollars in comparison to the six thousand to eight thousand dollar hospital costs we discussed earlier.  Birthing centers will generally work out payment plans on a sliding scale and accept Medicaid.

Whatever prenatal insurance alternatives you have to make, it is very important that you get health care for you and your baby.  Skipping prenatal care and trying to do your best on your own until the baby is born is not an acceptable alternative.  This kind of reaction to a lack of prenatal insurance endangers the lives of the mother and baby.  A high percentage of premature and high-risk births occur in women with no prenatal insurance and no health care alternatives.