Advice - Saint George, UT

I used this awesome midwife. My daughter is now 6 months old and she was born on February 24, 2006. She weighed 10lbs 12 ozs. She was really big but I didn't tear or anything cause the midwife was sooooo great. Best of all she only charged us like 2000 total. Her name is Lydi Owens and her home # is ###-###-#### and her cell is ###-###-####. Tell her M. refered you.

Before I became pregnant, I told myself that I would NEVER be on any type of assistance. But children have a way of changing you. I knew that my child needed all the medical attention that I could provide for it. I applied for assistance and was so grateful for it. The great thing is that they will back date any treatments or hospital stays that you may have from the day that you apply. If you have any question about it please ask.

If you are not working you can try Medi-Cal. Or if you are planning to work part time it might work. Depends on what the income requirements are...they do pregnancy only stuff.

You automatically qualify for Oregon Health Plan...or insurance in any other state when you are pregnant. Depending on your income, it is free or for a very small fee. Contact your local Department of Human Resources for info. I had OHP with both of my pregnancies, and paid very little for prenatal and delivery. Congratulations!

If you qualify, make sure you sign up for WIC (Women, Infants, Children) so you can get food assistance that may offset some of the hospital bills. And remember there's no perfect time to have a baby; just enjoy it and know that it was meant to be! I can't believe some responders are chastizing you for not having insurance. You do need to make sure your child is cared for, and you need to make sure THEY get insurance, and yes, you probably should have gotten insurance before you got pregnant, but chastizing you at this point in the game is pointless and cruel. This website is for advice, not criticism!! So check out all of your public assistance options, take out a loan, save your pennies, and take good care of yourself. Your child will not remember whether or not you had insurance; he/she will only remember the love they receive from you.

Angela what state do you live in??

Depending on your income, you may qualify for Medicaid. Google Medicaid for Nebraska or contact your dept. of health and human sercvices. Otherwise, look into a program for you and your child through Blue Cross/Blue Shield. The yare realitvely inexpensive.

Talk to your doctor's office and the hospital you will be delivering at. Many of them offer a discount if you make monthly payments before you have the baby. Also, check with the state to be sure you don't qualify for any assistance from them.

I don't know about getting insurance once you're pregnant, usually it's pretty hard. But i do know that hospitals are the MOST espensive way to deliver. You might want to consider going to a midwife at a birthing center. They do all the same checkups and you can deliver at the birthing center and it costs far less. The hospital costs between 7 and 10 grand without any drugs or complications. The birthing center will run around four grand for prenatal, delivery and postpartum. They also have a natural, calm approach to pregnancy instead of viewing it as a medical problem. I have been to an obgyn as well as a midwife and greatly greatly prefer the midwife. i will probably never go back to an OBGYN for pregnancy.
You might want to look at Treasurevalleymidwives.com if you live in Boise. Good luck!

A. L.

That happened to me last summer. I went into the local health office through the courthouse in my county and was put on Minnesota care (I am assuming you are from MN) First I needed to go to the hospital and have it confirmed that I was through a blood test. After that, they covered everything for me, it was really nice to not have to worry about anything!

I just had my baby 2 months ago without insurance...I had him at Jordan Valley and they have a stork program where you can pay in advance at a discount...good luck

A., congratulations! How exciting for you. As far as insurance goes, here are a few options. 1)You can still join a group plan that is offered through an employer. Utah law makes it illegal for group plans to consider pregnancy "pre-existing." 2)Baby Your Baby helps women go through the process of qualifying for Medicaid for maternity care. They are in the "blue pages" government section of the phone book. 3)If you are planning on birthing at a hospital, call to speak with someone in the billing department and ask what sort of pre-payment options they have. If you prepay, you can save as much as 1/3 off the facility fee. Many doctors and midwives offer a prepayment discount ('cause billing insurance companies is a royal hassle!) 4)The Birth and Family Place in Holladay is a licensed birthing center. The facility fee is around $2,000 and the midwives charge around $1,800. You have to call early, as their schedule fills up fast. 5)Giving birth at home with a licensed direct-entry midwife saves you the price of a facility fee. My fee is $1620 for prepaid clients. It's not for everyone, though, and you may have risk factors that preclude you from birthing at home. Good luck!

If you dont have any insurance you could take proof of pregnancy with you to the workforce services and see if you qualify for pregnancy insurance. Its just for when you're pregnant and for I think 1 or 2 months after to cover you if there are any post pregnancy issues.

You could also ask your job if they have any sort of insurance that they offer?

-A.

There is always a Planned Parenthood nearby and contrary to popular belief, they do provide resources to parents of all ages. In most states, it's free prenatal care, if state funding is not available, they provide the care for $10 or $20 per visit

A.,

Congratulations on your pregnancy! There is a program in Las Vegas called "Baby Your Baby" that offers services for moms-to-be. They should be able to help you find some resources to help.

Good luck!
T.

Congrats on the pregnancy. At this point, you won't be able to get any insurance due to preexisting conditions. However, it doesn't matter a whole lot because most individual insurance plans have a $5,000 deductible on maternity. My OB charges $2,400 for vaginal an d $2,800 ( I think) for cesarean. Then there are the hospital fees. I would plan on about $5,000-$7,500 for a hospital delivery. You might try birthing centers with midwives. They may be less expensive, though I'm not sure.

Good luck with everything!

Congratulations on your upcoming arrival. This may be a "litle out there" for some moms, but have you considered a homebirth? Many times the amount charged is less or about the same as co payments with an insurance company.

I believe your body is perfect for birthing your baby, so as long as you are healthy and do not have any high risk factors, it could be a consideration.

I am a doula, so most of the work I do is with hospital birth, but I do have a list of referrals for homebirth, if you would like any.

I wish you a beautiful birthing experience.

I have no idea of your financial situation but you can certainly try to apply for Medicaid. They will almost never turn down a pregnant woman. Here in Utah we have a program called "baby your baby" until the Medicaid kicks in. These programs use regular Dr's at regular hospitals and the care is outstanding. If approved, you will have unlimited coverage for your prenatal and postnateal needs until 6 months or so after your baby is born. Get online - you can usually start the process right at your computer - its well worth trying.
Good Luck!

Utah has a program called planed parenthood i know of one for sure in ogden on harrison good luck

I'm sure everyone has told you to contact 'baby your baby' I had this same problem.

I have an 8 mo. old beautiful girl and I had the same issue during my pregnancy. I found out about a program called Baby Your Baby. It gives discounts dependent on your income. You can also hook up with Medicaid if you qualify there. My husband and I made too much to qualify for that, however, the discounts on doctors and hospital stays and epidurals are all very significant. I spoke with Claudia Samano at Baby Your Baby. I'm sorry I don't have her # handy, but wanted to get this out when I saw your question. I'm sure the program is in the yellow pages. Good luck!

I work for Providence at an OB/Gyn office and deal with this issue all the time. The fastest way to apply for the Oregon Health Plan is through the Oregon City office. If you get a proof of pregnancy letter, you can get approved within a week. The address is 1425 Beavercreek Rd, Oregon City, 97045. Phone: ###-###-####. You can get a proof of pregnancy letter from Planned parenthood. Bring with you recent tax returns/paystubs and expenses. (if you apply the old fashon way, it can take months and you don't want to wait that long to get prenatal care) If you get denied the Oregon Health plan, Providence offers Financial Assistance (you just need to keep that denial letter from the Oregon Health Plan) and Providence may pay for all prenatal care. We also have pregnancy case managers that help you find other resources in your area to help with other needs for your baby. If you get denied financial assistance, Providence also offers a 26% uninsured discount! If you need any other advice feel free to call me at work, ###-###-#### -J.

are you married? are you working? if you are married try to see if you husband's work offer any kind of insurance, or go to a place where they offer help like food stamps and they usually offer medicaid, I did that my baby is costing me 134,000 tha tis up until now it will be more since he is still at the hospital, but you know what I will pray so that you baby and your situation get better and so that you have a healthy baby. God bless you

st marys hospital has a pre payment option..you only pay $2180. inlcudes delivery and the stay. i didnt know about this until after i had my daughter. tehy failed to tell me..so I ended up with a bill of over $6000. call them and ask to speak to someone in billing. and they will tell u the deal. but all of has to be paid before the delivery. but its the nest way to go for not having insurance. the number is ###-###-####

good luck and god bless.

Talk to a midwife. Whether it's money or anything else a homebirth is so much more personal and caring. It is cheaper and your care is so much individualized.
I had both my children at home and the experiences were awesome. They were hard work, but I believe womans bodies are made to have babies.
I would highly reccommend to at least to talk a midwife to see if its for you.
Congratulations and enjoy every minute of pregnancy, birth, and being a mom it's awesome.

Hi A.!! Congratulations!! I just found out that I am pregnant as well. Exciting times! Sorry to hear about your insurance situation. Unfortunately I don't have much advice but this is what I know in case it might help. If insurance is in your future, I do know that pregnancy is not considered a preexisting condition and therefore is automatically covered if you are able to get insurance anytime during your pregnancy. I also know that when I lived in WA the public health department offered prenatal care on a sliding fee scale and at times I believe for free. I think here that would be Southwest District Health. I would look into that so you can start your care now.

Good luck! J.

Have you checked with DHS? You may qualify for the Oregon Health Plan and they will stamp date it for you. I would suggest looking in the blue pages of the phone book or going to your local DHS office to get an application.

I live in Omaha, NE. In our city we have a University Hospital (a teaching hospital) that works with mothers who have no insurance or who are on welfare. They give you free or reduced price services and in exchange, you may have a student or two observing or participating in your care every step of the way. I don't know if you have something like this in your area, but I would like to think that your local hospital isn't going to let you birth this baby on your own (even though - I've heard of people doing this successfully and on purpose before.)

I just found that I am pregnant also with no insurance. I was on the internet and typed in maternity card and got maternitycard.com. Consumer of Businesses said that their business is Affordable Health Care and that they are not insurance. I called the number anyway and talked to Kyle Connell. He said what they do is they look over your doctor bills and take off garbage and re-rate the bill for example if your doctor charges $3,000 for all office visits and delivery, maternitycard may re-rate your bill for $1,500. Same goes for the hospital. You can look up the site and decide for yourself. That's just the only thing I found so far. If you find something better could you let me know please?
A. W.

Hi A.!

Congratulations on your pregnancy. I am not sure where you live but I have gotten GREAT resources from St. Rose Dominican Hospital, where I hope to deliver my child. They have a non-profit program called Baby Rose. I am sure they would be able to assist you with your need.

Here's an excerpt from their website....

Baby Rose Program
The purpose of the Baby Rose program is to encourage early,continuous prenatal care by offering free services such as physician referral, childbirth education, prenatal vitamins, and Medicare and Medicaid assistance to uninsured women. The program is administered through a Registered Nurse who assists women in accessing prenatal care regardless of their ability to pay.

"Early prenatal care allows women and their healthcare providers to identify, and when possible, treat or correct health problems and health compromising behaviors that can be particularly damaging during the initial stages of fetal development," said Betty Hatchett, R.N., Baby Rose facilitator. "Increasing the number of women who receive prenatal care, and who do so early in their pregnancies, can improve birth outcomes and lower health care costs by reducing the likelihood of complications during pregnancy and childbirth."

For more information on the Baby Rose program, please call ###-###-####.

Try and see if you qualify for Medicaid. Sometimes they will surprise you. You may fall in the low income bracket. The worst they can do is say no.

Congradulations!!!!

My name is Melissa.I am about 9 weeks pregnant with my 3rd baby,and We also don't have health insureance. You can try Cooperview Community Health Center ###-###-####, OBGYN Associates of Draper ###-###-####, Pioneer Valley Women's Services ###-###-####. I hope these suggestions help, as the above will take patients with out insurance. You can also try the baby your baby 1-800-826-9662 to see if you qualify for help from the state. Hope this all helps.

Do you have a job? Or does the father have a job? If not...Medicaid is the way to go. I hated getting government assistance...but it was the only chance I had. Also there is a program through Sunrise Hosptial called Baby Your Baby. You can find some info about it on the Sunrise Hospital webpage. It makes it possible to make payments to drs and hospitals and cuts the rates down depending on your income. Hope this helps!

C.

check into denali kid care to see if you qualify... they cover everything. You could also consider home birthing. alaska professional birhways in Anchorage is awsome. Shine was our midwife, and delivered both of our babies at home in water.

Anybody who is pregnant can get insurance through the welfare office... I think if you go to planned parenthood or call they can tell you what you need to do. Trust me the worst thing to do is have a emergency come up and have no insurance. I KNOW!!

Are you married? if not, you can apply for medicaid.

Hi, my advice would be to look into Baby Your Baby. I think the website is babyyourbaby.org. Anyway, they should have information about if you are pregnant and don't have insurance. Or, see if there are any state programs that can help out. Hope this helps!

I used to work for CIGNA and ran across this issue several times during my employment there. Global charges for giving vaginal birth are typically around $9,000, however; insurance typically negotiates a flat rate with the hopspital and typically pays about $4,000-$5,000. I would contact several hospitals directly, tell them you are paying out of pocket and negotiate a rate. You may also need to negotiate a rate with an OB who has hospital privledges at the hospital that will give you the best rate. You might also want to contact a health insurance broker for additional suggestions and temporary health insurance coverage, even if it does not include maternity. Just think of the financial damage you could encounter if you need emergency or major medical coverage! I don't know your financial situation, but there is also Medicaid. It requires a certain minimum income to qualify. Good Luck...S.

Hi. I didn't have insurance for either of my childrens births. I went to the washoe pregnancy center. They were really nice. I also beleive that I you find one of the docters there that you like you can request to see them everytime you go in. Dr. Chen delivered my 1st child by c-section and when I had to have another c-section I requested her and they totally worked with me. I hope this helps. Also washoe has a great class for child birthing and everything that you need to know. I got the info through washoe pregnancy center.

where do you live --- you can free prenatal care in all areas and apply for medicaid --tell me your area and I will link you to everysite you can possibly need -- I can be reached by putting M. please advise in the subject line I will respond with all the info you need within one week but I need your zip code --county and state --also your basic income amount (just average it) --

When I was pregnant, I didn't have insurance either. I found that the doctor and the hospital gave a great reduction if you "prepaid". I just made payments every month to both the doc and the hospital. I didn't get the hospital paid in full before birth, but they still worked with me on paying it afterwards with the discounted cost.

I dont see anything wrong with baby-your-baby ins. If you qualify, go for it, it's better than skipping out on Dr. visits and not getting proper care, also for the women I have known that make to much money but dont have insurance (owning thier own small business) that don’t qualify, I've seen them pay a set amount with the doctor (back then 10 yrs ago, it was like $2,500.00) for all the visits and labor & Delivery, which doesn’t include complications, just a basic healthy pregnancy, labor & Delivery, I suggest talking to your doctor to see if there is anything he can do to work with you if you can't get insurance, Maybe he/she can give you a discount for paying up front. However I'd see what state help you might qualufy for first, (other insurance companies wont pay for a child until 11 months after enrollment) Call the department of family services, you don’t want to have a new baby and if anything goes wrong, have piles of hospital bills on top of the new adjustments and expenses. Good luck and Congratulations :)

Congratulations!!!

I too was going to suggest the Baby Your Baby program!

I want you to call this number right away and the United Way of Salt Lake can assist you with getting in touch with Planned Parenthood. This is a non-profit organization with resources to assit you until you get on your feet. They are designed to make sure your preganancy goes well and that the health of you and your baby are taken care of. 211 is the number, like 911 this goes to a service that takes calls during the day.

I have my own business helping families financially. I would love to meet you and see if I can help you achieve your goals. L.

Have you looked @ BabyYourBaby? http://www.babyyourbaby.org/

There is an office who can help you with that. it is called MED QUEST. Its located across frm the county court house in wailuku.