The Right Time for Getting Supplemental Maternity Insurance

Women likely to become mothers in the future need to look for health insurance plans with maternity coverage included. If you are in this position and you assume that the health insurance plan that you have in effect now also covers for pregnancy, you might be wrong. Standard health plans don't and you need to have a supplemental maternity insurance to them. Make sure you have this rider because there are many women that neglect this aspect and only realize they are not covered properly when there's nothing they can do.

Individual health plans usually have a waiting period before maternity coverage actually enters in effect. The maternity rider needs to be taken for half a year or a year before the insurance companies start paying benefits. This means that if you are already pregnant, your maternity coverage might only become effective after you have already given birth. It is best to have supplemental maternity insurance and medical insurance also before you start conceiving a baby.

It is not at all affordable to give birth without insurance. A normal birth, without any complications can cost around $2500. If you require a C-section or if there are any problems with the baby, the cost of delivery and medication will increase significantly. It's hard to tell whether you'll have problems or not during pregnancy and delivery, but it's best to be safe, so get maternity coverage in advance, just in case.

Women who get health insurance with a supplemental maternity insurance will indeed have to pay higher premiums. However, the additional cost of your insurance is not at all as high as the medical expenses that are going to incur in this period. Your maternity coverage will sure pay off. After you don't need it anymore, you can lower back the amount of your premium by dropping the maternity coverage. It's up to you how much you keep it, but don't get pregnant without it under any circumstances.

If you already have a good group health plan, check with your employer to see if he or she won't also include supplemental maternity insurance in it. If not, you can still get it on your own. It will save you a lot of trouble concerning expenses and it will allow you to spend time with your baby and to recover after child birth without thinking how to pay for what you need.