More than four million babies are born in the United States each year to millions of new and experienced mothers alike. But not all new moms are able to spend their time decorating nurseries, celebrating their first days of motherhood and learning how to calm a fussy baby; some new moms will have to worry about how to afford medical bills.
Thankfully, Title VII of the Federal Civil Rights Act requires insurance-providing employers with 15 or more employees to cover pregnancy-related expenses for employees and spouses in the same way other medical conditions are covered.
But if you’re one of the many women with coverage on an individual basis, an additional rider may be necessary to cover the many costs of having a baby—which could skyrocket up to $12,000 for an uncomplicated delivery, not including prenatal care, lab work and ultrasounds. Should the baby be born prematurely or require a hospital stay, the bill could grow to hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Before you decide to purchase a rider on your health insurance policy, be advised there may be a waiting period of one to two years before coverage would be available. But, if you happen to become pregnant before the waiting period is up, coverage may be restricted or even nonexistent.
“The waiting period is regulatory and varies between companies, [making maternity coverage] completely voluntary,” says Robert Zirkelbach, spokesperson for America’s Health Insurance Plans (AHIP). Zirkelbach notes that by using this system, people who plan on having children can purchase insurance, while those who do not are able to go without and pay less.
According to a 2009 study by the National Women’s Law Center (NWLC), only 13 percent of 3,600 individual plans offered maternity care to 30-year-old women living in capital cities across the country. As of January 2010, 12 states have mandated maternity coverage for individual policies.
“It’s important to note that women who work for small [insurance-providing] employers with less than 15 employees may also be lacking maternity coverage,” says Brigette Courtot, senior health policy analyst at the NWLC. “We put a lot of emphasis on the individual plans, but a lot of the smaller group plans aren’t state-protected.”
