New pregnancy and insurance

[Vanquisher]

I have been on Medicaid. It's not that bad. Some people may choose to judge you, but that's their problem. I will pay back everything I used it for and then some with my taxes in the years to come.

Some states also have family health plans or child health plans for people who do not qualify for Medicaid, but who do not have insurance. I know New York had this. It was called Family Health Plus, and we were on that for a while before we qualified for Medicaid.

Good luck!

[spotty_dog]

Congratulations!

Similarly to what Heidi said, I know that the Oregon Health Plan has a whole range of support for uninsured people at different income levels. Another option might be individual insurance. My waiter friend just purchased himself a health care plan through Blue Cross Blue Shield with a high deductible but a reasonable premium. Your pregnancy might put you in a higher-premium group, but it should still be more reasonable than $10K/yr! Heck, if you're currently employed with benefits, even purchasing COBRA after you leave should be less expensive than what you quoted!

Best wishes, and good luck!

[Gwendolyn]

We were on the state insurance all through medical school. We were both students and easily qualified financially. DH needs daily medication and I never used it, but had it if necessiary. Then I found out I was pregnant and it became critical. (I sound like an ad ). But is was wonderful. We had some issues early on with DS and needed some heavy testing (all covered with no copay) and then continued to need specialist care (all covered with no copay). The only problem we had was that it didn't cover circumscision (sp?), but the pedi did it for free out of professional courtesy. Now that we have resident instrance...it has actually been more of a hastle...

The paperwork for qualifying was confusing, and sometimes we had to schedule months in advance for a specialist, but without it we would have been sunk. Check with your states department of economic security...Also you probably qualify for WICK assistance...the federal program for pregnant women and new mothers.

Congratulations!

I agree about checking into COBRA, if available.

The name tends to vary by state but you should check into your state SCHIP (state child health insurance plan) as it sometimes includes pregnant mothers. The coverage and name varies by states but it is similar to Medicaid. Here is an article that provides links to each states SCHIP:
http://singleparents.about.com/od/insurance/a/SCHIP.htm

I'm not sure exactly how it works. The application process varies by state. If you can narrow it down to your current state and Michigan, I would suggest looking for the application on-line via the link above or calling them directly.

The income levels, asset tests, etc can vary drastically. Here is the toll free number and application for Michigan:
http://www.michigan.gov/mdch/0,1607,7-1 ... --,00.html