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I'm shopping for insurance.

how important is maternity covereage. seems as though its going to cost an additional $280-$350 a month to have maternity coverage.

I am considering not going the maternity coverage route and just saving the $350 a month and just paying cash for babies.

any idea about how much it cost to have a youngen with out maternity ins?

these are the quotes i got for paying Cash

Intial OB Visit $1200

Normal Delv $3100 ($4225 for c-section)

Hospital charge 6,200 ($8500 for C-section)


which totals $13,925.00

Your assumptions are based on normal delivery, and if you have the cash saved up, paying cash makes sense. But one thing to consider is that if the pregnancy or delivery involve complications, the costs could get drastically higher.

Another thing to consider is that the cost of getting the kid here is nothing compared to the costs that you will incur over the following two decades...

Our insurance coverage is great. Really great. 80/20 for most everything I think.
It cost us $3K out of pocket after it was all said and done for our son to be born (c-section). And we covered a most, if not all, of that with Flex spending through our insurance. So he was tax free for the most part.

Get the insurance! So insurance will be 3500 for 10 months or you pay 14,000 if every thing goes perfect. You have initial ob visit listed but what about the countless other doctor appts and ER visits? Our first was while in the Army so no cost, second child we have federal blue cross/blue shield and he cost me $20. Also I paid copay at first ob appt and that was it no more copay or other charges.

When I was shopping for insurance for my wife, BCBS wanted us to pay the maternity premium for a year before the coverage kicked in. And then they'd only pay a portion of the costs. (Less than 80% from what they told us, and these are both considerations when deciding on coverage.) Using your numbers, you'd break even if insurance paid roughly 50% of your total bill.

We decided to not get the maternity coverage after talking with my HR benefits people, who explained everything to us. Of course, if the stck turns blue, she goes on my insurance.

They give you 60 percent off if you don't have maternity. And once the baby is born if there are complications the baby is covered under your normal insurance.

What type policy are you looking at? With a BCBS individual policy, there is a 12 month waiting period(in which you still pay for it monthly) before any benefits will be paid. Keep that in mind. If there is a way to put her on a group, the coverage is effective immediately.

i have a quote for an agent, for an indvidual policy.

its about $360 a month with a 12 month waiting periord for maternity benefits 3,000 deductible with 80/20 coinsurance 3000 max out of pocket after deductible $35 copays


my group policy through work is $623.50 with maternity benefits from the begenning. $2500 deductible, 80/20 coinsurance, 10k max out of pocket including deducible. $25 copays

Just depends on how deep your pockets are and if you want to make a gamble where a loss will result in bankruptcy.

Our baby girl was on her own clock, but arrived over a month early by the doc's. Thankfully we avoided NICU which can run up a 6 figure tab before you can blink. Our total bill (before insurance discounts) was still over $60k (my wife spent a week in the hospital on bed rest after her water broke, but before the baby was delivered). After insurance, I paid about $4-5k including the $1k each deductible.

A normal pregnancy will run you $13,000 to $15,000 that is with no complications. If you are willing to risk that there are no complications and pay cash most hospitals will give a pretty significant discount if you pay cash up front. Once the baby is born it should be covered under you regular insurance.

randywallace wrote:Just depends on how deep your pockets are and if you want to make a gamble where a loss will result in bankruptcy.

Our baby girl was on her own clock, but arrived over a month early by the doc's. Thankfully we avoided NICU which can run up a 6 figure tab before you can blink. Our total bill (before insurance discounts) was still over $60k (my wife spent a week in the hospital on bed rest after her water broke, but before the baby was delivered). After insurance, I paid about $4-5k including the $1k each deductible.

Yes what he said. NICU is the kicker. Both of ours were in nicu for short periods of time less than a week each even with good group coverage at the time we were out of pocket several grand. God forbid you end up in a nicu situation for several weeks to several months. It could be double hard with a sick baby and 6 figure bill. It's a big risk. Damned if you do damned if you don't

Bcbs use to cover the baby once it was born if the mother had there insurance. The last child we had the baby had to wait a month to get coverage thanks to Obama. We chose to take the gamble of. Not having maternity coverage and it worked out in our favor. But it might not always work that way. The doctors like when you pay for it bc they will give you a discount.

my first child was in the NICU for 4 months (weighed 2# 1 oz) as well as my wife was in the hosipital for over a month and serious complications where she almost bled out during C section. My wife before pregnancy was as healthy of a person you would ever meet... never sick and in great shape.. stuff happens and can happen fast.. i wouldn't want that weight on my shoulder knowing that i had set up to pay cash and something major happens and not have the financial means to cover it.. Get the best coverage you can buy and just know your world can change in a minute. Trust me insurance companies will try to weasle their way out of anything they don't feel liable for... its a whole lot more headache down the road to try to get money from insurance than just to pay for a better covered plan and pay upfront. it may cost more but what you put in vs. what they pay out in the event of extreme scenario (like ours) is almost a no brainer. On another note, we just had our second child 2 weeks ago and wife and baby are as healthy can be. Still came about 3 weeks early but no NICU visit this time... WE DONE NOW

Get the insurance!! Wife with HELLP syndrome (in and out hospital for a month) and twins that spent a month in the NICU!! Im still paying monthly and I had insurance; the kids are three years old now. Not worth the risk.

BAY KINGFISHER wrote:Get the insurance!! Wife with HELLP syndrome (in and out hospital for a month) and twins that spent a month in the NICU!! Im still paying monthly and I had insurance; the kids are three years old now. Not worth the risk.

Yup same stuff mine had!! its bad bad news!!!