Planning a baby is a big step to take when wanting to start a family, but it is one of the most wonderful life-experiencing aspects of being a human that you can go through. There is nothing quite like holding a tiny baby to your chest, except for maybe seeing them succeed as they grow up.
But the problem is that the cost of having a baby can be astronomical unless you can take advantage of all the free services available at a public clinic. For those wanting to choose their medical providers and the clinic where the baby is born, it will be necessary to get some private health insurance.
It is not something you can go down and get a week before the baby is born, so let's discuss 5 things to know about health insurance if you're planning to have a baby so you can be prepared and ready to go when the time comes.
- Out Of Network – Health insurance policies are commonly created in a way that requires you to use their specific network of healthcare providers. This is great if you are OK with going through one of the doctors on the list, but if not, you need to check into a different option because the out-of-network costs can be substantial.
- Infertility Costs – Average health and birthing insurance plans will not cover any costs associated with infertility treatments and specialized visits. If this is the plan, you will need to upgrade your insurance policy to include those charges because they could cause you to go broke if you do not allow for them.
- When To Obtain Policy – When you start planning for the arrival of a new baby, it is important to have the insurance policy in place before you actually become pregnant. This is because most insurance contracts will have a short waiting period in which you cannot file a claim. Check the fine print to see how long this amount of time is, and make sure you have it in place before trying to conceive. If you do not have the time to wait, check out iSelect health insurance with no waiting period.
- Prenatal Care – Most health insurance policies cover prenatal care, but if not, you will want to include it with the birth insurance that you go with. To ensure that the baby enters the world healthy and ready to run a marathon, the mom and the baby will need all the prenatal visits and medications that your medical providers require.
- Baby Deductible – Before any prenatal or birthing costs, you will have to pay a deductible amount. This is separate from the one you will have to pay for once the baby is born, for all the aftercare visits and checkups involved with the child. Make sure you are aware of this extra amount so you can have it budgeted.
These five tips may not seem important, but they are imperative to have if you are planning a baby. When getting a health insurance policy, most people will not even consider this aspect of life until it is too late. They find out the hard way that their basic coverage is not enough. Plan ahead and get the upgraded policy to ensure you and your new baby are covered for the short and long term.
One thing that needs to be mentioned before wrapping up is that things happen even if you plan to have the birth at home. You never know when an emergency could arise, and you, the baby, or both may need to take a quick trip to the ER. You need to ensure that if this happens, you still have the right insurance policy to handle it.
Never assume that everything will go smoothly and you do not need a policy covering the hospital. It is always better to have insurance and not need it than to need it and not have it.
