How Will My Costs Change if I Become Pregnant or Add a Child to My Individual Health Insurance?

If you are a woman who becomes pregnant without maternity coverage your medical care costs will probably not be covered.

On the other hand, there are some forms of health insurance for individuals that allow women to choose a no-maternity option, but switch to maternity coverage in the event of a pregnancy.

However, the availability and cost of such plans vary from state to state. It's important to know whether or not maternity is covered in your policy and plan accordingly, because maternity costs can be very high.

If you become pregnant and you don't have maternity coverage, it can be very difficult to get health insurance after the fact, so it's wise to know your options beforehand. Because many women don't get health insurance until they become or plan to become pregnant, and then drop coverage after the birth, maternity costs can be difficult for health insurance companies to absorb.

For this reason many health insurance companies won't extend coverage to women who are already pregnant.

As for the newborn, in some states the child is covered by the parent's insurance for 30 days after its birth, while other states don't offer that coverage. If your new baby won't have insurance once it is born, plan in advance and choose an insurance carrier that fits your needs before the baby arrives.

Then, you can easily make arrangements for the health insurance of the baby when it is born.

Individual health insurance for families is more expensive that basic health insurance for individuals because children are more expensive to cover and often need repeated doctor's visits.

However well check appointments are very important for the health and wellbeing of your new child, so be sure to select an insurance policy that includes these appointments and features a deductible and out-of-pocket costs you can afford.

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