Laid Off And Pregnant? You Have Options

The boilover from the recession has forced many American companies to lay off employees. If you're pregnant and laid off, you're probably worried about how you will afford your prenatal care, delivery and other maternity-related expenses without employer-provided health insurance. The sad reality is that even when you've taken every step necessary to keep you and your family covered, you can't depend on the benefits you've worked so hard to secure. Still, pregnant women who have been laid off have options for avoiding a gap in health care coverage.

The Foundation for Health Coverage Education (http://www.coverageforall.org) has issued five steps you need to take if you've been laid off and want to avoid a gap in health insurance coverage here (http://www.emaxhealth.com/2/72/27117/holding-your-health-coverage.html) as reported by EmaxHealth.com. And BankRate.com has also covered the topic here (http://www.marketwatch.com/News/Story/Story.aspx?guid={39766BA8-D7E1-4F3D-BEF1-C7826EAE83AF}&siteid=mktw) at MarketWatch.com.

Both articles suggest education as the key to maintaining health insurance coverage, and both mention COBRA, spouse policies and self-paid insurance as options. While these are definitely viable options, each adds additional expenses to your budget. If you can't afford the additional premiums, these options aren't available to you.

If you can afford it, however, federal law prohibits pregnancy from being treated as a pre-existing condition if you have already had health care coverage for maternity health and you have a limited gap in insurance coverage (http://www.hhs.gov/ocr/hipaa/). If you did not already have insurance, this does not apply to you (makes sense, right? Wrong). What's more, even if you did have insurance at your old job and begin a new job with another insurance policy, you might be subjected to as much as a 90-day waiting period before coverage begins (while the HIPAA law prevents pregnancy from being considered a pre-existing condition that prohibits your transition from one insurance plan to the next, it does not bar insurers from instituting the normal waiting period all policyholders must endure).

Calling your state insurance commissioner's office, as suggested by the BankRate.com article, can be a good starting point; but unfortunately I've had many experiences trying to get reliable and useful information from state officials that ended up as wild goose chases. When you're pregnant, you can't afford to wait weeks and months for insurance -- you need it now to protect you and your baby.

So, if you can't afford the options detailed in the articles referenced here, and if you do not qualify for state-sponsored insurance plans, and if you can't get any good information from your state officials, and if you can't find a new job -- what can you do?

Your most valuable tool is education -- learn, learn, learn. Learn how the system works and what you can do to get good insurance for yourself and your baby. Resources can be found at sites like The American Pregnancy Association (http://www.americanpregnancy.org) and Maternity Health (http://www.maternityhealth.org), both non-profit organizations that work to advocate healthy pregnancies. And if you're at a complete loss to find coverage, try using a service like Maternity Advantage (http://www.maternityadvantage.com), which helps pregnant women find help and negotiates medical bills on behalf of pregnant women.
No matter how the economy is, being laid off puts hardship on a family -- especially when you're already pregnant. Be proactive, make smart decisions, keep your chin up and use the resources available to you so you can confidently care for yourself and your children without the financial and personal stresses that come with doing nothing.

I am PRO MOM!!!
Aaron Bouren
Advocate Aaron