Pregnant Student with no Health Insurance!

[lostcannon]

Hey guys,

I'm an undergrad student about to graduate in December...and I'm 7 weeks pregnant. Right now, as most students are, I'm on my parents health insurance. However - come December, I will no longer be covered. My question is, since I am already insured can I transfer to another insurance with maternity coverage while avoiding the high premiums for the "pre-existing conditions" or am I still subject to paying enormous fees since my current insurance policy is under my fathers name and not mine? Does this make sense? Basically...I have researched getting insurance independently of my parents and obviously have run into a few obstacles: Money Money Money! I am hoping that I can beat the system and just transfer my health insurance from X to Y without getting caught up in logistics.

If not...what are some suggestions for finding health care coverage before too long? I will get pre-natal care on my parents insurance but I'm worried about check ups post December and the delivery costs.

I'm not married, and don't plan on getting married before the baby is born (May '10). And I don't qualify for government aid - I think I'm what they call a "mom in the middle".

Any help at all is greatly appreciated!

Thanks for your help!

[Nats]

Hey guys,

I'm an undergrad student about to graduate in December...and I'm 7 weeks pregnant. Right now, as most students are, I'm on my parents health insurance. However - come December, I will no longer be covered. My question is, since I am already insured can I transfer to another insurance with maternity coverage while avoiding the high premiums for the "pre-existing conditions" or am I still subject to paying enormous fees since my current insurance policy is under my fathers name and not mine? Does this make sense? Basically...I have researched getting insurance independently of my parents and obviously have run into a few obstacles: Money Money Money! I am hoping that I can beat the system and just transfer my health insurance from X to Y without getting caught up in logistics.

If not...what are some suggestions for finding health care coverage before too long? I will get pre-natal care on my parents insurance but I'm worried about check ups post December and the delivery costs.

I'm not married, and don't plan on getting married before the baby is born (May '10). And I don't qualify for government aid - I think I'm what they call a "mom in the middle".

Any help at all is greatly appreciated!

Thanks for your help!

Where are you from?

[rach083]

I am kind of in the same boat. So I would love to see some answers to this as well. I am in Ohio here. Although I am not in school, both my husband and I work full time. The cost of insurance through my work is about $200 a month and it is very poor coverage. My husband has insurance through his work, but it is a small company and in order for a spouse to get on as well I have to pay premiums and it would run us about $260 a month! We both make more than enough to qualify for any help, such as a medical card, or anything like that. I was told in Ohio, if you make too much you can still get the medical card, but will have to pay a certain premium a month to have it? I'm not sure if this is true but any feedback would be great.

[Miya]

I had a friend who was on her hubbys insurance at this one company and became pregnant. He then left that company and insurance for a new job and different insurance BUT the new insurance continued her coverage throughout her pregnancy (including c-section). I'm not sure if it's like that everywhere in every case but maybe. (he is working for a defense contractor so maybe that insurance in better, I don't know)

[OhThereYouAre]

Hey guys,

My question is, since I am already insured can I transfer to another insurance with maternity coverage while avoiding the high premiums for the "pre-existing conditions" or am I still subject to paying enormous fees since my current insurance policy is under my fathers name and not mine? Does this make sense? .......I am hoping that I can beat the system and just transfer my health insurance from X to Y without getting caught up in logistics.

Why would any of us want to help you do that?

By you subverting the system, everyone else would have to pay more on their policies to subsidize you.

It's not very smart to ask on a public forum how to commit insurance fraud.

[Nats]

I had a friend who was on her hubbys insurance at this one company and became pregnant. He then left that company and insurance for a new job and different insurance BUT the new insurance continued her coverage throughout her pregnancy (including c-section). I'm not sure if it's like that everywhere in every case but maybe. (he is working for a defense contractor so maybe that insurance in better, I don't know)

Wow...

[Miya]

I know I was amazed too! Apparently this company (Trigon it's called I think) doesn't really consider pregnancy to fall under a pre-existing condition.

[WildChild]

What are your plans?
If you can't afford insurance and can't afford the cost of medical care, how are you going to afford a child? They aren't cheap, I didn't start out that way but I'm a single mom, I know. It's a tough balancing act.

You might be able to get your own policy with the same company but it may be pricey. You are only 7 weeks, you have options. If you aren't willing to terminate you might consider adoption. You are just finishing college, you may have student loans that you will have to start paying on, you will have to hit the job market and start becomming self supporting, you have some serious thinking and planning to do.

[Little]

Public assistance becomes much easier to get when you become pregnant, have a child, etc. The income caps go way up (since you'll need much more money to take care of the child than you would have for just yourself.)
Why don't you qualify now? Because of your parents' income? Upon graduating and no longer being a student, you will only have to claim your own income, and as a new graduate it will likely be small.
What about getting insurance through any job you obtain after graduating? While it may be hard to find amazing work while pregnant, it should be possible to find a job with flexible hours and an insurance plan. Even retail cashiers can get pretty awesome insurance if you pick the right company.
I didn't realize spinning your insurance off an existing account was insurance fraud. When I log into my account to pay car insurance online, I still have the option of paying off my parents' car and home insurance ... and I started my new account over 3 years ago. Is that a mistake or standard practice?

[OhThereYouAre]

I didn't realize spinning your insurance off an existing account was insurance fraud. When I log into my account to pay car insurance online, I still have the option of paying off my parents' car and home insurance ... and I started my new account over 3 years ago. Is that a mistake or standard practice?

Willfully attempting to deceive an insurance company in order to obtain lower premiums is indeed insurance fraud.

Because of people who do this, everyone else who chooses to be honest with their insurance underwriting pays a higher price.

Property/Casualty insurance (such as car/homeowner's) aren't as strict as life/health insurance. However, if there are questionable anomalies with your account, I suggest you fix them before you have to make a claim someday.