options when pregnant with no insurance?

Question

My wife came up positive on a home pregnancy test. I am a contractor with no health insurance. I probably make too much for medicaid, but don't make enough (after monthly bills) to pay for continued dr visits, or delivery of a baby. What options do I have (abortion is not an option). Or what local gov't office will be able to tell me what options I have (I live in TX). How much would prenatal visits and a delivery cost anyway?
Please, no rude answers.

thanks for everyones replies. Here are my thoughts:
Medicaid - won't be approved because I make too much.
Mid-wife - sounds good to me, but the wife doesn't want to do this.
Ameriplan - I doubt I will be able to pay cash at the time of service. I will most likely need some sort of payment plan, and this too will even be difficult.
Social services - I will call them today and ask them for advice.
I will also call up different hospitals and ask them if they have some sort of "low monthly payment plan".
For the person who asked where I live - its in the DFW area.
Thanks again!

Answer 1

You sound like a member of that huge class, the working poor. The only option I'm aware of is a midwife and that's not a bad choice at all, just not one most people are familliar with.
• They are fully trained.
• They give excellent, empathic prenatal care.
• They are less expensive than the doctor and hospital.
• During delivery, they have an O.B. on standby in case something goes seriously wrong. But it never does.

Your baby will be born at home, and the midwife will explain every detail so that both you and your wife will be entirely comfortable with the idea. In fact, the birth will be far more relaxed and natural than if you were being poked and prodded and interfered with in a hospital. My first was born at home, and the others would have been as well if the services of a midwife had been available. Our local midwife here in rural Maine has delivered more healthy happy babies than I can count. Remember: women have been having babies for thousands and thousands of years. Pregnancy is not a disease - it's a natural process.

Do get your wife a bottle of prenatal vitamins. They contain folic acid, one of the B vitamins that prevents a birth defect (spina bifida) and is not readily consumed in the diet.

Good luck! Let me know via email how things worked out!

EDIT: Someone suggested private insurance. If you've looked into this, you already know it's almost as expensive as dealing directly with doctor & hospital. With my third, the O.B. actually bartered his services for a side of beef (but that was 30 years ago). Doctors will perform several intrusive, risky and unnecessary tests because they are terrified of malpractice suits. After reading all the responses, I still maintain that a midwife is your wisest choice.

Answer 2

The cost of montly Dr's visits, prenatal vitamins, ultrasounds to make sure their is no abnormalties with the baby, during the last 2 months you can expect to be visiting the dr's office more frequently like during the 8 month once every 2 weeks, the last month once weekly.And last but not least the the cost of the hospital bill and the dr bill for delivery usually if there are no complications she could stay in the hospital anywhere from 3 to 5 days.But you can make arrangemments with the hospital to make monthly payments.

Answer 3

When I was pregnant, I was able to get Medicaid thankfully.
Also, remember, pregnancy is considered a TEMP. Disability. She may qualify for Medicaid due to that alone. Call up Social Services, it can't hurt, and right now any bit will help.

Social Services also has a program to help people who will be having a hospital stay and can't pay for it. I don't know what the program is called, but talk to them.

The Health Dept. is also another resource. They also provide birth control, GYN health care, as well as other services.

The free clinic may be able to help with the baby checkups. I know it's a lot of info to fill out, income based, but you never know until you try. And remember, she's now disabled! (at least till the baby is born)

Look into your local Community Action center. They may have some availble programs as well.

And don't forget about WIC (Women Infants And Children) it helps provide food to nourish the mom to be, and will provide milk and food good in iron until the baby is 5 years old.

Remember, you'll have three in your family which means they will take this into account when you apply for programs after the baby is born. Don't give up, there's got to be something out there.

Answer 4

Since benefits through your job is not an option you should be able to get some sort of help from the state. Prenatal care is a big thing now and they will most likely cover her and the baby for a while. She should be able to get some sort of assistance, I would go to your local office tomorrow.
I just had a baby in Sept and my insurance sent me what the Dr and the hospital billed them and it wa not pretty. My Dr. charged 45000 and the hospital charges 4100 and the funny part was I had the baby so quick (within 20 mins of going to he hospital) the doctor wasn't even there and she gets 4500. My doctor visits were @ 210 a visit. I live in Fayetteville, NC maybe it is high since we are near a military base and most people get off post care and they knw Tricare will pay for it.

Answer 5

Contact social services...depending on your income, medicaid or another type of coverage designed for pregnant women might be available in your state. Good luck and congrats!

Prenatal care and delivery are A LOT of money out of pocket. The delivery alone can be up to like $6,000 if a c section is needed, plus hospital stay, the baby's care, and all the prenatal office visits, sonograms, and blood work...try and get help if you can

Answer 6

Congratulations!! Just thought I’d share there’s a company out there who’s helped a lot of people who do not have and need affordable health benefits. They cover regular office visits, specialists like orthodontists, any pre-existing conditions like your wife's in-progress pregnancy and even ancillary care and hospital advocacy. It basically includes everything you need help paying for. There's no high premiums, deductibles, co-pays, waiting periods, claims forms or anything like that at all. They can save you up to 80% on your out of pocket expenses for so much less than all the other companies. It could end up saving you a lot of $$ over traditional insurance. They have a medical plan as well as a dental plan that both include vision, prescription and chiropractic benefits as well. They have over 400,000 providers nationwide as well, so it is available almost everywhere. I know TX has a ton of providers. They are a wonderful company and are members of the Better Business Bureau. They were even featured on FOX News just a couple weeks ago. I know several people who have benefits through them, and everything they say about them is nothing but positive. It’s just crazy how much people are shelling out for their healthcare. I then also got benefits through them and love to be able to tell other people about how much money they can save. Try this website and you can check out the specifics and providers in your area. http://www.everyonebenefits.com/40424269/. If your preferred provider isn't on there, he can be added. I hope this helps you and you find what you need. You can email me personally at airforcecontractnegotiator@ yahoo .com (we're military) if you have any questions. Best of luck and happy new year!!

Answer 7

I also am in Texas and had my third baby 18 months ago with no insurance. There are a lot of Dr.'s out there that will give you special rates with no insurance and you will have the whole time until delivery to pay it out. The hospital doesn't ask for anything up front so you can also pay it out. Make sure you find a good Dr. and try to stay out of the clinics. The Dr.'s will work with you. My Dr. was excellent. Good luck.

Answer 8

I was in the same boat, thank God I got hired in the 3rd month and got good insurance. Might want to check, but my employer said it is now against the law to call pregnancy a pre-existing condition. Also, I checked around and better than any kind of insurance or places that make you pay to work with the physicians, blah, blah, blah...you should get on a payment plan with the dr office and hospital. They will give a huge discount if you pay part in advance and then you can get set up on a payment plan with the hospital for the rest ( no interest).

Answer 9

I was in the exact same situation when I was pregnant with my first child. I called several OBs and asked them about options. They let me pay out the cost of the Doctors fees. I am also in texas what area are you in? I lived in Fort Worth and could give you the name to a great OB/GYN. They even did all my ultrasounds in office so that I wouldnt have to pay the hospital for them. I think the doctors fees were around 2 grand. The hospital will also usually work withyou.

Answer 10

I had this problem and I found a program called moms it helps with the cost of doctor visits and delivery it also covers the baby for up to a year just call your local government agency and they will help you find something.