Maternity Insurance - Arlington,TX

Hi T.!

We had the same problem. My husband is self employed and we don't have maternity insurance. We tried to get medicaid, but the system is worthless. All I got was the run around. I filled out all the forms, stood in line forever, waited to find out whether or not I qualified, and to this day...2 years later...I have yet to receive a response. Even after all of the phone calls I made. So, with our third baby and now our fourth due in 9 weeks, we used Amy Allred, CPM with Family Birth Services in Grand Prairie. After delivering 2 children at a hospital, using a midwife at home was the absolute best thing I have ever done!!!!! Cost wise, the hospital was going to run us about $10,000. Using a midwife was third of that. She has a monthly payment plan, which worked well for us! The personal attention that comes with a midwife is wonderful!!! Please feel free to email me if you want to hear more about our experience with her. I love telling people how wonderful she is!!! My email address is ____@____.com is her website: www.blessingsofbirth.com

Dear T.,

I am 7 weeks pregnant and have been looking into Midwives. The cost to have your baby in your home or at a birthing center is almost half and most insurances will cover it. There is a birthing center in Grand Prairie called Family Birthing Services. I'm sorry I don't have any info about maternity insurance.

S. C

i need maternity insurence, i dont have no insurance and i need a good deal.Im A single mother with two kids and one thats coming.I need to find a afortable clinic . I live in Arlington TX.

Hi T.,
You may be able to use AmeriPlan with your private insurance...depends on the policy. Parents Magazine May 2008 Issue lists AmeriPlan as one of best ways to save money on medical/dental expenses. If you would like more information visit www.DNShealth.net I would also be happy to talk with you about AmeriPlan anytime. Just call me at ###-###-####.
~ N. Shue, RN

I believe you have to have the maternity insurance in force for one year before becoming pregnant with a lot of these companies, so read the fine print carefully. After paying for a year of insurance, plus continuing to pay during your pregnancy, you can probably save up enough money to cover just paying for the care yourself. The only exception would be if you are considered high risk (and not just because of age) and/or you end up with a c-section.

Another, much cheaper option (than an obgyn) that will give you a wonderful experience and excellent care is going with a Certified Professional Midwife (CPM). I recommend a home bith, but you can do a birthcenter birth too. My midwife was Molly Germash. She was out of of FAmily Birth Services in Grand Prairie, but has now opened her own Birth Center in Peaster (near Weatherford). If that is too far, the other midwives at FBS in Grand Prairie were all really nice. The midwife care I recieved included all basic bloodwork that they do at the beginning of a pregnancy, prenatal care (same schedule as an ob would see you), delivery, newborn exam and pku testing, postpartum checkups at 2days, 2weeks, 6weeks and 12weeks. At 12 weeks you also get your first postpartum pap test done. With my first, born in June 2003, MOlly charged 2,000.00 for all of that. She actually gave us a 400.00 discount though because we were able to pay it all up front. 1,600.00 is pretty hard to beat! With my daughter, born March of 2007, Molly charged 3,000.00. We used her student (which Molly fully supervised) and only paid 2,000.00. Sonograms are an extra 80.00 done by a sonographer that comes to the birth center, which I understand is an excellent amount to pay compared to what dr. offices charge. I would be more than happy to talk to you about my experiences with a midwife if you are new to the idea. I have met quite a few ladies in the time since my first was born and not one person said they won't ever use a midwife again, but almost all have said that about a hospital birth. They all plan on having more home or birth center births in the future. It is very safe and you and your baby will get excellent care!

Hi T.,
I am an insurance agent here in Arlington and if you would like to call me, I would be happy to give you all your options. There are individual maternity plans available here. ###-###-#### or my website is www.onestophealthandlife.com
Give me a call and I will guide you through the choices.

Good luck and baby dust to you! T.

Had to come back and edit after reading others responses. There are true major medical plans that you do not have to wait a year to use. AHCO is no good as far as discount plans, you can negotiate that on your own.

You might try Assurant Health. I am an Edward Jones Financial Advisor, and although I do not sell health insurance, I have had a great deal of luck refering clients to Assurant Health for various medical insurance needs.

I just had a baby with no insurance. I applied for a discount insurance card. Not a good idea,The doctors cash pay was mush cheeper we just paid cashpayments.

Hi T.,

My husband and I own our own business, so I didn't have maternity insurance with either one. I used a discount plan on both. Be very careful of discount plans they promise up to 80%, but in reality I think it only discounted 15-20% max. You may want to check with the hospital you plan on delivering. You can ask them about prepaying labor and delivery and it is a HUGE discount at some hospitals. Someone told me about this after I had my first child. I asked the hospital on the second child. They had changed their policy when I spoke to them, but it is worth checking into.

I hope this helps. Best of Luck.

J.

I am going through the exact same thing and I know how frustrating it can be. Unfortunately there is no maternity insurance anywhere and God forbid you get pregnate then need it!!! I am using a company that is actually a discount plan place.It is not that great but at least its something. It is called AHCO (Affordable Healthcare Options). Good Luck!!

I listen to Dave Rasmey (570am 1-4PM) and he says maternity insurance is a waste of money. Instead hospital shop. Make an appointment dress your best and ask for their best offer. He suggests a cash payment made in the second trimester. Visit multiple hospitals and find the best deal.

Hi T., have you considered using medicaid with your insurance? I just called a local office to verify this, they stated that they would pay what your insurance does not. In the State of Texas a pregnant women can not be denied medicaid. Good Luck, T.

The old fashioned way is giving birth at home. Midwives are a great, supposedly. I have a friend who did it 6 times! If there are complications they take you to the hospital, and in that case I think emergency Medicaid would cover. Exercise and eat well so you have lesser risk of problems during child birth, which translates into fewer dollars :) ...

I don;t have insurance but I use maternity card - it was all I could find. It is still expensive to pay for this on our own but every little bit helps http://www.maternitycard.com/

T.,
If you have private insurance there should be provisions within your policy to help offset medical expenses for maternity.

I am a Farmer's Insurance Agent and wanted to bring to your attention that you may be missing out on additional savings. For example at my agency we have a discount for the Teachers, and when this discount is used with Defensive Driving you could save as much as 20% alone, which doesn't include other discounts that you may be eligible.

Give me a call or contact me at ____@____.com, or ###-###-####.

Thank you

G. Morrow
Morrow Insurance Agency

We are due at the end of October and do not have maternity insurance. I checked around and didn't find any options that seemed worth paying for. Both my OBGYN and the hospital (Harris Methodist HEB) offer discounts for those without insurance that pay out of pocket. They both also offer pay plans. The total for my doctor and hospital will run close to 10,000 if it's a normal delivery. Good luck!