What Birth Mothers Should Know About Medical Insurance
You’ve picked the perfect couple to adopt your baby. They’re funny, kind, intelligent, and bursting at the seams with love for their child-to-be. You’re eating right, staying fit, and following your doctor’s advice. There’s nothing left for you to do, but wait for your baby to arrive, right? Maybe not. Before the big day arrives, you will need to look into your medical insurance situation and ensure that the expenses associated with your delivery will be covered.
The cost of giving birth in the United States can be astounding. CNN’s “Cost of U.S. Childbirth Outrageous” states that the average price for a vaginal delivery is $18,329, while a C-section comes in at $27, 866. The last thing you need is to find yourself on the hook for a hefty hospital bill–especially after giving your baby up for adoption.
Check Your Own Coverage
Your current health insurance plan may cover your prenatal and/or hospital costs. If you are under the age of twenty-six years old, “FAQ for Adoptive Parents” reminds readers that your parents’ plan may cover your medical expenses. If you wish to be covered under your parents’ plan, but do not want them to know about your condition, “Adoption Questions: Medical Insurance for Birth Mother?” recommends securing an alternate mailing address so that the medical bills related to your pregnancy do not wind up in your parents’ hands.
If you are currently employed and have an insurance policy through your employer, you will need to find out what type of coverage you have and which doctors and facilities are included in the plan’s network. The same steps should be taken in you have a private plan of your own.
And don’t forget, if you meet your state’s requirements, you may even discover that you qualify for Medicaid.
No matter which type of plan you have in place, it is prudent to find out exactly what they will and will not cover. Furthermore, most insurance policies only cover 80 percent of the costs, so someone will need to cover the remaining 20 percent. This should be the adoptive parents.
Special Enrollment Period
If you have missed the previous open enrollment period, don’t panic. According to “Obamacare Facts,” having a baby–or adopting a child-qualifies you for a Special Enrollment Period, meaning that you can apply for Obamacare enrollment or make changes to your health insurance. Yes, you can even back-date your coverage to the day your baby is born.
The Adoptive Parents
In most cases, the responsibility for pregnancy-related medical care costs that are not covered by insurance should fall on the shoulders of the adoptive parents. As “Planning a Family: Get to Know your Health Insurance Policy” states, “if you’re adopting an infant, and the birth mother has no insurance, you may have to pay for prenatal care and the costs of the childbirth.”
Be sure to get a financial agreement regarding all birth-related expenses before finalizing any adoption papers. You should not be responsible for costs associated with delivering a baby that you are putting up for adoption.
There. You can now tick that one last item off your list and enjoy your final trimester.
If you’d like to read about what other birth mothers have to say regarding the adoption process, you may wish to check out “Adoption Services: A Birth Mother’s Perspective.”
