Pregnant with no insurance?

Question

First of all, please no criticisms. I am six weeks pregnant and have no health insurance. This past year my fiance (this is his account that's why the avatar is a guy) claimed me on his taxes as married. Because of the tax situation I don't think I'll be eligible for Medicaid. While his income is very good, we have a lot of financial things going on right now. We are closing on a house this coming week, his teenage brother is living with us, etc. I don't expect to have my costs completely covered, but are there any programs out there that may assist in the cost of prenatal care and labor&delivery? Also, about how much is it for prenatal care and labor with a two day hospital stay?

To address the fraud answers, the accountant told us that by filing as married we would be considered common law married. My fiance is self employed since he is a real estate agent and does not have insurance. Thanks for the criticisms even though I asked to not get them.

Answer 1

The criteria for common-law marriage and the IRS is rather strict. If you meet the criteria, great, but if you don't ... you could be looking at a tax fraud charge. Filing as married does NOT make you common law married. You have to meet the criteria first, and then file as married if your state recognizes it.

To be honest, no one is going to foot your delivery bill and prenatal costs because you just bought a house, etc ... Social services goes after the father for the costs, and according to you, his "income is very good", and since you filed a joint return ... so is yours. The fact that he has other financial obligations does not matter. A child is a priority.

Also, since you are "common law" husband and wife, you own half of that house and it doesn't matter that you aren't on the Deed. You will also have to get a legal divorce if you ever split up.

Many hospitals and birthing centers have programs for people who for whatever reason have to self-pay. You will need to do a lot of calling around, but you should be able to find something. There is a hospital in my area that has a program where you make monthly installments BEFORE the baby is born while you are getting your pre-natal care, but the bill must be paid in full before delivery. The cost is a fraction of what it would be if you just showed up and wanted your baby delivered.

You could also go out and get a job and either purchase health insurance or be covered under your employers plan.

Answer 2

A normal labor & delivery & prenatal care with an obstetrician is about $10,000. Keep in mind, in the US, 30% of ob births end up being a c-section, which is actually 4 days in the hospital, and maybe double the cost.

A normal labor & delivery & prenatal with a midwife is about $2500. Figure about another $500 if you do a homebirth in supplies & rentals, maybe another $2,000 if you do a birthing center, and 5% of midwife births end up being an emergency c-section.

See if your state recognizes common law marriage. You also should check the state WIC program - pregnant women count, for help with food & nutrition information. And even if you think you won't be eligible, if your state doesn't recognize CLM, maybe medicaid will help anyway.

Just for the record, I've never met anyone who had a midwife & regretted it . . . ditto for the homebirth bit. It's more relaxing to have a baby in your home than in a hospital. And AFTER the fact, it's impossible to relax in the hospital - they come in every hour to wake you up, all night & all day, check your temp & blood pressure, it's a real PITB.

Answer 3

I know what you are asking but you have to realize what you are really asking. With your soon to be husband's good income, you should be able to pay for the procedure or buy health insurance.
If you are not going to buy insurance, you need to be prepared to pay several thousand dollars for your labor and delivery charge. Prenatal visits should run you $75 per visit and some testing charges.

You have eight months to still save for it.

In that case, you may want to investigate health plans in the individual market since your fiancee is self employed.

Those plans won't be cheap....about $1000 per month for family coverage.

If that sounds like a lot of money....it probably would have been a good idea to think about those kinds of costs before buying a house.

With a child coming soon certainly you want the child the have access to health insurance just in case.

A good company in the individual market is Assurant Health. They have reasonable rates and very flexible plans.

Answer 4

Hi there...

I was living with my parents at the time of my pregnancy and my fiance did not have me on his health insurance. I thought I was still covered on my father's insurance...but after the delivery I was informed that my dad's insurance had dropped me...so I was going to have to pay the bills all by myself, which really wasn't possible.

The bill ended up being about 2400 for prenatal care and about 2500 for the hospital, and then my daughter's hospital bill was 980 dollars. So all in all we had a little over 5000 in bills.

I went to the DSS office and applied for Pink Medicaid - it is specifically for pregnancy and would cover 2 months prior (and since my whole charge was billed at the time of delivery, it worked out great). I did not have to give my parent's income because I only wanted the 2 months retro and not continued coverage.

I would go to your social services department and check anyway...chances are you probably will be able to get Pink medicaid. Good luck and congratulations on the baby!

Answer 5

I was in the same boat as you only I was already 5 months! i had been using my moms insurance since i'm a full time student but when me and the babys daddy got married the HMO kicked me off since I was no longer a dependent. I had to go to the welfare office and apply for mediCAL (medicare for california) they only accpet people over 21 if they are pregnant so you will need to bring a proof of pregnancy. You can probably get a free or low cost preg test at planned parenthool or a free clinic. Also make sure you bring proof of umemployment meaning if yo havent already applied for unemployment you will need to even if your claim is denied you need to prove that you tried. Also bring social security card and your rent and utility receipts otherwise you will need to come back with these things b4 they'll start your case and it will take even longer. In the meantime start taking some OTC prenatal vitamins

Answer 6

First, claiming you as married when you were not is fraud and you need to speak with the IRS to file corrected taxes. Then, you may be eligible for medicaid. Check with a local Planned Parenthood or free clinic for options for care.

Answer 7

Even if your man makes too much for medicaid, there should be other programs where you live. In colo. we have a program called CHP+ that provides insurance for children and pregnant women who make too much for medicaid, but can't afford other insurance. It is a LIFE saver for us! I would go to your local health dept, family planning office or dept. of human services. They should be able to get you set up, tell you where to go, etc.

Answer 8

you might be able to get pcap ,,, check in your area for that,,,
if you not eligible for medicaid,,, still try they will want to see your expenses verses your money coming in,,,
you may be eligible go apply,, if not in our state we have a insurance that is for people that don;t get medicaid but don;t make enough to get their own insurance,,,
since he has no insurance thru work,,,
it is expensive to have no insurance .. the doc will prob want the $$ upfront,, the hospital you can make payment arrangements with
but you are going to need vitamins and other testing that runs pretty $$
good luck to you, both,,,

Answer 9

Ok, if you don't worry about pride I would apply for a medicaid card because your not working or just simply have your child at your local county hospital.

Answer 10

U need to worry about tax fraud and health care!