No Maternity Insurance

Hi! I was in the same situation as you with my second daugher. I had private insurance and learned that no individual insurance in Texas covers maternity. A few offer a maternity rider, but you have to pay for a least a year or more before getting pregnant and the coverage is quite limited, so it was not worth the cost. As someone mentioned before, you CAN prepay the hospital and DR, but it is still usually 6-7000 by the time you add everything up. I ended up using a nurse-midwife at the allen birthing center. I had an all natural waterbirth and it was wonderful! Much better than the hosiptal (with epidural) experience I had with my first. Midwives spend much more time with you on prenatal visits and the delivery than doctors can, and nurse midwives have degrees in nursing and then extensive midwife training. The ones at the Allen Birthing Center were labor nurses for many years before becoming midwives and continue t teach labir and delivery nurses at TWU and parkland. The center is so homey and not hospitally. I did lots of research and learned the statistics are actually safer with for a healthy mom than with a hospital birth becasue they do not do so much intervention (like uneeded inductions) . It may not be for everyone, but it was great for me and cost under 3000, I think. E-mail me if you want more info...

Hi, I just recently became pregnant for the third time and recently moved to the area. And my fiance had not not any insurance from his job, so I went ahead and applied for medicaid and was approved it never hurts to try and sometimes they will give you other helpful resources if you don't qualify...don't worry that's what it's there for, I used to work for human services, and I always tell people not to feel guilty "you pay taxes, don't you"...good luck.

Hi R.,

I haven't heard of the maternity card...I also have medical insurance but no maternity coverage. When I was pregnant with my son in 2004, I discovered that if you arrange with your Dr and hospital to prepay your expenses, it is cheaper than waiting to be billed after the delivery. For instance, I was going to deliver at Denton Community, and to prepay for labor and delivery there, it was $2700 total. If I would've waited for them to bill me, they said it would be between $8000 to $10,000. Also, since I had prepaid, I was locked into a discounted rate if I needed extra days in the hospital or c-section. I also prepaid my Dr $2500, so for prenatal care, labor & delivery, total cost was around $3000.

I don't know if other hospitals do the same, but it's definately worth checking into!

Another alternative is A Place For Birth in Denton. It is a wonderful birthing center run by nurse midwives. If you've had an uncomplicated labor/delivery before, you might want to check into it. I believe the total for prenatal care, labor and delivery there is around $2000. The midwives are wonderful too!!

:-) H.

I am in the exact same situation. Are you already pregnant - I am. Will you please let me know if you receive any valuable information?? Thanks!

My son is 19 mos. old and when I was nearing my time of delivery, I was told I had to pay $200.00 for the labor and delivery charges. I had Medicaid and it covered those charges for me. I don't know if you have Medicaid or not but it's worth looking into. I don't know what your local Health and Human Servics number is but they can help you get set up if you would like.

I am in the exact same situation and have been pondering the same question. Would you mind sharing your findings with me as you receive them? My emaiil is ____@____.com. Thank you! A.

Hi R.,

I'm not that familiar with the maternity card, but I know of a plan that would probably be more beneficial to you and your family. It's called Ameriplan. Our plan covers your entire household with medical, dental, prescription, chiropractic, and vision for under $60/month. No deductibles, all pre existing conditions covered. Let me know if you'd like more information.

D. 1-877-529-9555
____@____.com

I have similiar situation. I have not heard of that card. I do have a sister in law that is a nurse and she said that it is free at Parkland and that the staff their is excellent. You can recieve all medical necessary during pregnancy. Hope that helps.