Pregnant with No Insurance - Athens,OH

Definitely check into the health departments family planning. If they don't have a wellness clinic I am sure they can refer to somewhere that does. They can't deny medical when pregnant. I would also appeal their descision.

theres an insurance strickly for pregnant woman, i know because i was on it and married and my husband worked and at the time i did too. its not medicad but as soon as i find out more i'll let you know.

hey there I have been in the same situation as u before. When I was pregnant with my 3rd child I had no insurance I applied for medicaid for pregenant women they wont refuse u for it becasue u have to be able to get care when u pregnant.I hope all goes well with the baby. ____@____.com I like to keep in touch with the people I meet up here.

I lost my health insurance after I got injured on the job and missed the deadline for Cobra because my disability check was late. I applied for Medicaid around my 6th month and was denied. It took a couple months for me to find out because I kept having to get paperwork to them. I didn't find out until the week before I delivered. I kept telling the doc that I was still waiting for an answer and they never made me pay anything at my visits. The doc's office was fine with that and so was the hospital. After I found out, I told my doc and she cut her bill way down. I'm still paying on it monthly. You can probably work something out like that with your doc and the hospital will take monthly payments too. I only pay the doc because I want to keep her as my ob-gyn, but I haven't paid anything to the hospital yet. I just can't afford too right now. It will go on your credit, but it won't really affect it. Medical bills aren't judged in the same way as other things, like house and car. Hopefully you can find other programs that will help. Take care and try not to stress about it. It won't change anything and your baby needs a relaxed happy mommy right now. Best wishes and good luck!

I would look into lowering your monthly expenses, and used the saved amount to prepay for the pregnancy expenses as best you can before the birth. Lowering your expenses may also free up enough for insurance.

Good luck!

if your not going to go back to work, they'll give it to you retro-active. thats hat happened with my son and it ended up covering everything!

You may want to look into getting Medicaid, not Medicare. Medicaid is state supported. With you being pregnant with no insurance they will have to cover you. As for your children, you should be able to apply for Medicaid for them. Are you getting child support from the kids' father (s)? If so, most states mandate that the children's father put the kids on their insurance. If you have to get on any type of public assistance, believe me, most states will push this issue with the father alot quicker because the state doesn't want to pay for his responsibility.

The Lord loves it when we can not find the answers by our own means. This is the time to trust Him and ask Him to show you ways to save, to expand what you already earn, to chase away the devourer for Jesus's name sake so what you already own stays in good working order and there are no surprise repairs needed during this time. Ask the Lord to stretch your gas mileage, your groceries, and your utility usage. And when He asks you to give, give generously with a happy heart. Trust Him! Let Him manage your money and stand back to see His miracles. In everything give thanks!

I.

call wic they may have some advice and help as well as help me grow. have you checked about food stamps they may help you save enough to get insurance my daughter checked on line. i am broke also and scared but will put you on my prayer list good luck ith your lovely children

I would look into a midwife. If you have already given birth once, you know how your body works - trust it and the caring midwife! Many midwives will work on a payment plan and have incredible resources to help out all kinds of women.

Also, get a doula!! Even if you end up birthing at a hospital, a doula can support you and help you from getting medical things you don't need. (Thereby saving you MONEY!) :) Having another women there to support both you and your hubby can make a world of difference. The doula is your advocate. A great help!!

Good Luck.

Good Day,

I am not sure where you live, but some states have the option of joining a program offered at a specfic clinic that allows you to only pay a co-payment of 10 to 15 dollars per visit. The only requirement is that you had to have been denied medicaid in writing. Hope this helps, if you have any questions feel free to email me.

Take Care,
T.

S.,
I know this all to well. I have 4 children 10, 9, 4, and 2. and my husband and i both work. We make too much to receive any benefits. the sad thing is that if you dont work you have nothing but if you do you get nothing. I know here KY the hospital has to provide prenatal care for free if you have not had any care, so i would check into seeing if they have a program or maybe go to the health department to see if you can get help.

Hi! I live in NC and am having the same problem. I went to get it and was denied. We had maternity with our first child and not this one. My husband and I both work and I am considered high-risk so the health dept won't take me. You could try there though. I am due in April. I am not sure where you live at, but here after the baby is born I can re-apply for Medicaid. Your bills have to be more than 25,000.00 here over 6 months, which could happen after the baby is born. I would go back and re-check with them and see what they said about that. If you get it, they will backdate you and re-pay you the money that you have spent so far. We have to pay 600.00 a month for our new son until he is born and that is without the hospital stay. SO look into it. Good luck!!!!

A great financial information resource is www.crown.org. The website shows you how to make a spending plan, etc., which can help you to free up as much money as possible for your needs (like medical care).

Hi S.,

I know how hard the insurance thing is. Both my husband and I are self-employed so we buy our own insurance and pay an outrageous premium every month. I'm pregnant with my first child though so I know you have it tougher. My only suggestion is to look into alternative birthing methods, (i.e. birthing centers) They typically cost less than a hospital and you are more likely to have a natural birth and avoid the huge expense of a ceasarean. I am going to one myself and it's absolutely wonderful. I'm not sure how far along you are and if this is even an option for you but I wish you the best of luck!Oh also, if you are comfortable now with labor(being your third child) talk to some doulas. They can usually give you a name of a midwife that will do a homebirth. I looked into this at first and it costs $2500. Of course this is just for the birth you'll still want to have prenatal appointments with someone. My birthing center is approximately $5000 for the whole package.

K.

Is the CHIPS plan not available to you either. If you make too much for the actual medical card you could be eligible for CHIPS. Usually the Department of Health and Human Resources automatically sees if you are eligible for that when you arent for the medical card however it may depend on the state you are in.

What county do you live in because in Durham County, pregnant women are not denied Medicaid. Did you take them proof of your pregnancy (a note from your doctor with you expected date of delivery)? I would apply again, but make sure they are aware that you are applying for Medicaid for pregnant women (MPW). There are so many different Medicaid programs that they may not have been sure with one you were requesting. Medicare is for people who are disabled or of retirement age, so that is not what you should be applying for in this case. I worked in collections for awhile and I believe the cost of a vaginal delivery (not including prenatal care) is $4022.00, but it may have gone up since last year. There are other programs out there. You should go to social services and ask about Healthchoice (a program that is like a combination of mediciad and regular insurance, you'll have copays, but usually no deductible or monthly costs) if you are denied Medicaid.

Good Luck! I have a daughter who is disabled and my husband is a full time student while I work 2 part time jobs and we just got a termination letter in the mail today. She had the ins for a year but I guess since she had surgery last month and it cost 11,000$, they wanted to drop her.

The only thing I can say is, aren't you going to be leaving your job to take care of the baby? If so, you will not have that income and when you apply for insurance, it is retroactive. But are you applying for your family or just the children? You can apply for just the children and not the family. That might help.

Sorry about that. Good luck.

S.,

I was looking on your profile and says that you are located in Ohio, so I looked up Ohio Medicaid benefits (I work in healthcare finance and insurance so I'm familiar with this kind of thing). Looks like the income guidelines for "parents" is 90% of the federal proverty level and for pregnant women it is 150% of the federal proverty level. I'm not sure if you have already had the baby so I will give you both senarios.

What this means is that for a family of 4: If they consider you a "parent" only, your income would have to be at or under $18,000 per year (1,500 monthly) to qualify. If they base their decision on you as a pregnant woman, your family income would have to be $30,000 per year (2,500 monthly). Also, if they are considering your benefits as a family of 3 - as in looking at your situation before the baby was born, the income max amounts will be thousands of dollars less per year.

Also, you can contact the hospital you would give birth in and see what charities or discounts they offer. Depending on how aggressive the hospital collections department is, they may be willing to work with you quite a bit. Some are quite aggressive though, and will make you pay a certain amount per month or be sent to collections. Others will allow you to make very small monthly payments with interest tacked on. I would check with your dr. and the hospital to find out what they do when someone cannot pay in full, just to devise a plan. Also, if you plan to have an epidural, there may be an additional charge from this doctor, so you might need to make one more phone call.

Just remember though, if you do get sent to collections over medical bills, these are looked at as a less serious matter than being delinquent in other types of bills.

For example, if you were go to buy a house and you could have $10,000 in unpaid medical bills or $10,000 in unpaid credit card bills, they would flat deny you because of the unpaid credit cards, but would still consider you with the medical bills on there if the rest of your financial situtaion looked good.

I know I didn't help too much, but maybe some of this information will give you a little more understanding.

Babylove is the program you want in NC. Call 1-800-FOR-BABY. Someone should be able to help you determine whether or not you qualify because of your income. For Medicaid (NC Healthy Start or Healthchoice; not Medicare, which is for the elderly), your income for a family of 4 (a baby not yet born should be included) must be $3442/month max, with more for work-related expenses such as daycare. If you're the only one working, they probably will not take daycare expenses into account but instead see those as optional, if your spouse can work. I know what you mean about not having any $$ left. I almost wish I made less, just to qualify for some of the programs. Instead, I make slightly too much, and any little bit extra (plus more) is eaten up by one expense or another. Good luck!

Hi S.,
Look into Planned Parenthood. If you are still in OH, I would check and see where the closest one is located and call and ask about the prenatal services they provide. It might not be a long term option, but it will get you in immediately to be examined regularly by a clinician, at least until you can qualify and apply for other health care assistance.

I have been walking the same road, I actually have health insurance... just no maternity.

I know that you said you can't afford insurance, and I am not possitive if we live in the same Area... but I found that cinergy health insurance is REALLY cheap, and they will accept you after you are pregnant. They have 2 rates, $186 a month ... or $241 and they will start your coverage right away. They will pay %80 of everything, and if you use a Dr in their network, the DR will give a 30-40% disscount which is pretty awesome, I have calculated that this would leave me with about $200-300 to pay when it is all said and done. I hope that helps.