My husband and I are planning on having a child through a surrogate birth mother. Part of our agreement with the surrogate is that we pay for all medical expenses for pre-natal and maternity delivery. The woman we have chosen does not have health insurance. We are having a hard time finding insurance for her because she has a pre-existing medical condition. Is it possible for us to add her to our insurance?

The fact that this woman is considering surrogacy would prevent her from getting health insurance, even is she did not have a pre-existing medical condition. Any application for individual health insurance will ask if the applicant is planning surrogacy. As far as the insurance company is considered, this is the same as being pregnant. Why would they want to insure somebody that they know will be incurring potentially high medical expenses? She will need to find a health plan that is guaranteed issue. What state does she live in? Many states have high-risk health pools for persons that are uninsurable. The eligibility requirements and covered services vary from one state to another.

As far as including her on your insurance policy, this is not an option. You may only include immediate family members as dependents on your coverage. You will be able to add the newborn child to your policy immediately upon it’s birth, providing you have the legal documents to prove that you are the lawful parents of this newborn child.

6 Comments

1. She lives in Arizona. We live in California. We are thinking to rent her an apartment in California near our home during the later stages of her pregnancy.

   Comment by Maggie — December 4, 2006 @ 6:20 am

2. Arizona is one of the few states that does not currently have a high-risk health pool. California has a high-risk pool, Major Risk Medical Insurance Program. To enroll in this program, you must be a resident of the state of California. They define resident as “a person who is present in California with the intent to remain in California.” There is another health care program in California called AIM, Access for Infants and Mothers. This program provides health insurance to pregnant women who have resided in California for at least 6 months and meet medium income guidelines.

   Comment by admin — December 4, 2006 @ 6:32 am

3. From what you are saying, it does not sound like there are any options for getting her health insurance. Do you have any other suggestions?

   Comment by Maggie — December 5, 2006 @ 5:39 am

4. Do you or your husband own a business? You could hire this person to work for your company and then put her on your group health plan. If not, you could bring her to California now and delay inducing pregnancy for a few months. The AIM program in California will accept her for coverage through the second trimester. The only problem with that program is she will need to verify an income in California in order to qualify. You did not mention if she was employed or planned on working if she relocates to California.

   Comment by admin — December 5, 2006 @ 6:06 am

5. As a person committed to reproducitve rights and an employee of a reputable surrogacy agency, I can tell you that the above information is completely false. Please refer to “Beitler insurance” on the web and I’m sorry the above person has misled you. Best wishes.

   Comment by Concerned — December 8, 2008 @ 9:16 am

6. I know of many couples out there who face the same difficulties that you do and it’s not fun to go trough the worry over the business health insurance. I don’t know if it is possible for you, but isn’t it so that large group plans can’t deny you for a ‘preexisting’ condition like this? Could that be an option? Otherwise there is probably a lot of good information on this site and other places online.
   What I really wanted to write here though is to warn you about those people who are advertising health insurance for people who have preexisting conditions. I am sure you are going to run into them sooner rather than later. I want to tell you to make sure to read the policy carefully and read the fine print. I really think some of these companies are very shady with their offers. Kind of like those $20 a month health insurance deals. BEWARE!

   Comment by Rose — June 23, 2009 @ 10:44 am

Leave a comment

Name (required) *NOTE: Your name will appear on this website. If you do not wish to have your name appear, please use only your first name or an alias.

Mail (will not be published) (but required)

Website

XHTML ( You can use these tags): <a href="" title=""> <abbr title=""> <acronym title=""> <b> <blockquote cite=""> <cite> <code> <del datetime=""> <em> <i> <q cite=""> <strike> <strong> .

Security Code: