Being Pregnant and Uninsured: The Obstacles

October 25th, 2009

Being pregnant is not meant to be simple. Being pregnant without health insurance is significantly harder. The frustrating thing is that no one wants to be uninsured if she has a choice about it, and often women become pregnant unintentionally, so the fair conclusion would be that health insurance providers would be tolerant of uninsured pregnant women.

That is not the case.

In reality Getting insurance for pregnant women is problematic. Why? The official explanation is because the pregnancy is treated as a preexisting condition, a reason that causes countless people to struggle to get health coverage (i.e. if someone has AIDS, getting health coverage and does not possess insurance might prove to be virtually impossible as well).

On one hand, it is possible to understand the health provider’s perspective: nine months of pregnancy can cost quite a lot: visits to the doctor, standard screenings, the possibility of complications and not to mention the delivery of the baby itself. However, pregnancy is a natural condition, and in this day and age we should expect that there be laws assisting women obtain health coverage if they find out they are pregnant and do not possess health insurance.

Unfortunately, this is not the case - there is no law requiring health insurance providers to assist women in this situation. Many women would not even request for a low cost medical insurance but would settle for whatever they can get - but alas, even that is not a trivial task.

The good news is that there are several programs that offer maternity insurance for women, as well as programs that are insurance-like (which cover the entire pregnancy and delivery) - basically, these are sufficient.

In our site, The Guide to Health, we provide several articles that elaborate on the alternatives available for women in this situation as well as offer links to one such a program. Hopefully, you, the reader, possess health insurance and pregnant - but if you are, this site can really help you.

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Why You Should Obtain Health Insurance If You’re Thinking Of Becoming Pregnant

October 2nd, 2009

Being pregnant is not meant to be simple. Being pregnant without insurance is significantly harder. The frustrating thing is that no woman wants to be uninsured if they have a choice about it, and often women become pregnant by accident, so the fair conclusion would be that health insurance providers would be understanding of uninsured pregnant women.

That is not the case.

In reality Obtaining insurance for pregnant women is very hard. Why? The ‘formal’ explanation is because the pregnancy is viewed as a preexisting condition, a reason that causes countless people to struggle to obtain health coverage (for example, if someone has Alzheimer, getting health coverage and does not possess insurance might prove to be very hard as well).

On one hand, it is possible to understand the health provider’s perspective: nine months of pregnancy can cost quite a lot: visits to the physician, standard screenings, the risk of complications and not to mention the delivery of the baby itself. However, pregnancy is a natural fact of life, and in this day and age we really should expect that there be laws assisting women get health insurance if they discover they are pregnant and do not possess health insurance.

Unfortunately, this does not seem to be the case - there is no federal law requiring health insurance providers to help women in this situation. Many women would not even request for a low cost medical insurance but would compromise for whatever they get - but alas, even that is not a trivial task.

The good news is that there are multiple programs that offer maternity coverage for women, as well as programs that are insurance-like (which cover the entire pregnancy and delivery) - essentially, these are good enough.

In our site, The Guide to Health, we provide several articles that explain the options available for women in this situation as well as offer links to one such a program. Hopefully, you, the reader, are not uninsured and pregnant - but if you are, this site can really help you.

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