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Work provided health insurance, babies, and job instability
Jimmy King
Registered User regular
Registered User regular
So, for some incomprehensible reason my wife would like to allow me to reproduce (God save us all). I apologize in advance for the terror I will be unleashing on this world.
Anyway, here's the problem. From what I remember of any health insurance forms I had to fill out at every job I've ever worked they only cover pregnancy if your little minion is conceived while insured or possibly within a short time period of starting on their insurance - something like 30 days. My job is not so stable. I will almost certainly be allowed to go down with the ship but, well, this ship seems to be sinking faster and faster and I don't want to go down with it. Common sense would suggest I just get a new job first but that's not as simple as it sounds. My skill set is not in terribly high demand around here, especially for long term employment rather than short contracts. It could quite conceivably take a year for me to find a suitable replacement job and actually get offered the position. Has anyone here dealt with changing jobs mid-pregnancy? Do the insurance companies tend to work with you on that? What if I change jobs and the company has insurance through the same place, so I'm changing policies I'm on but am still covered by the same company? Getting health insurance outside of what is offered by work has come to mind, but that normally costs $texas, but if anyone has any suggestions, I'm certainly open to them.
Anyway, here's the problem. From what I remember of any health insurance forms I had to fill out at every job I've ever worked they only cover pregnancy if your little minion is conceived while insured or possibly within a short time period of starting on their insurance - something like 30 days. My job is not so stable. I will almost certainly be allowed to go down with the ship but, well, this ship seems to be sinking faster and faster and I don't want to go down with it. Common sense would suggest I just get a new job first but that's not as simple as it sounds. My skill set is not in terribly high demand around here, especially for long term employment rather than short contracts. It could quite conceivably take a year for me to find a suitable replacement job and actually get offered the position. Has anyone here dealt with changing jobs mid-pregnancy? Do the insurance companies tend to work with you on that? What if I change jobs and the company has insurance through the same place, so I'm changing policies I'm on but am still covered by the same company? Getting health insurance outside of what is offered by work has come to mind, but that normally costs $texas, but if anyone has any suggestions, I'm certainly open to them.
Jimmy King on
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But, I agree that not knowing whether you'll have solid employment along with insurance coverage would probably make me think twice about having a kid right now.
Perhaps the "wait until things are more stable" approach is the right one this time. Things have just not been stable for about 8 years now and we had put off so many other things in hopes of everything getting better. Secure employment in this area is nearly non-existent. It is almost entirely 6 month to 1 year contracts.
Anyway, rest assured, "wait it out" is the plan until we know for sure everything is ok, I'm just looking for ways to make sure it'll be ok sooner rather than later.
EDIT: If there isn't any security in your area, you may think about moving to do what's best for the family unit? Also, does the wife have insurance? If she does then her kid should be covered and she'll get a nice long maternity leave too.
I dunno, maybe this is the push I need to give up on the company I currently work for and start looking for something else. Obviously there is some non-contract, direct hire work available as I have one of those jobs. I do believe I am the only person I am in regular contact with in IT that is not working for a contracting firm, though.
Kind of freaks me out a little that you have to worry about insurance for pregnancy though, but then you have to play by the rules in the country you live in I guess.
Having a baby is super expensive (in America, where I'm guessing OP is from). Doctor's appointments, blood tests, ultrasounds, etc. are outrageous without insurance (and can even be expensive with insurance depending on your plan), not to mention the $20k+ for the actual event at the hospital (hopefully your insurance would cover most if not all of this, but be prepared to pony up some cash).
Know or find out what your current insurance will or will not cover, and if you do start looking for new employment, find out as much as you can about their insurance coverage before you take the job. At my job, you aren't eligible for health insurance until you've been employed for 2 months. If your timing is off, something like that could be disasterous for you. Also, if you'd like to take any kind of paternity leave, FMLA isn't available until you've worked at a place for 1 year (also find out if your leave would be paid or unpaid (whether or not they're required to pay you depends on which state you live in).
You'll also want to check on the whole "pre-existing condition" thing with the insurance company, should you knock her up before switching jobs. They're the only ones that'll know for sure if it would be considered a pre-existing condition and therefore not covered.
The Best in Terms of Pants on JCCC3
Ouch. Good luck guys
I was primarily trying to find out if anyone had any sort of first hand experience or knowledge on how insurance companies handle situations such as switching jobs mid-pregnancy and if anyone has any first hand experience with insurance outside of that provided by work which is reasonably priced and has the coverage I need. I realize that in the end the insurance companies are the best source of definitive answers, but you guys are easier to talk to for the initial basic information gathering phase of things.
Although it'd be a very good idea to get into the habit/preparing, and start setting aside as much money as you can. Don't buy anything that isn't needed, etc etc.
Just a thought.
The insurance thing seems like a biggie, so I'd definitely check with your insurer what happens if you transfer employment mid-pregnancy or whatever. But ultimately, having a baby is a huge upheaval and there's always a good reason why having a baby right now isn't a good idea. Eventually, you just have to take the plunge and keep repeating the mantra 'there are people in worse situations than us successfully raising children'.
Of course, I'm speaking from the security of national health care and the idea of not even being able to afford basic care leading up to the birth is quite disconcerting.
I'm in much the same shoes as you. Currently I'm an engineer (been here for 6 years) for a small company that doesn't pay for any part of spouse and kids insurance. To add my wife to the policy here at work would mean I'd be paying $680/month out of my own pocket just for her. So we had a private insurance policy for my wife and kid. We found out recently that #2 is on the way and that the current insurance policy does not offer maternity.
I'd been looking around for a new job anyways. This just expedited the search and luckily I was able to find a job with excellent health insurance.
No, you've got it slightly wrong.
Assume you have a health plan through your employer, or you've continued your old health plan using COBRA. Once your little one is born, he is eligible for coverage - no matter how long you've been covered by your health plan. However, you must enroll the child within 30 days of birth.
If the child is born while you lack insurance, you should be able to enroll the child in any insurance plan you get just by opting for family coverage.
You can do this by simply changing your policy at work to a family policy or getting an individual private policy. Kids are fairly cheep to insure with a private policy (Mine was $80/month) but usually your work group policy will have better coverage.
In the end, though, this thread has mostly just confirmed what I already knew.
1) I really need to talk to the insurance company
2) I probably should just get on with finding a new job anyway
It's not cheap even if you have decent insurance, the event is setting me back about $4K (no C-section), and I've 80/20 coverage. That figure may go down, I'm waiting to pay to see if there are more insurance "adjustments"
Fortunately, I'm not too worried about that. Expensive, yeah, but I make good enough money and parents aren't going to let us starve on my side or her side of the family if the shit were to really hit the fan somehow.
The actual birth would fall under the whatever policy your wife is on. All the medical care for the infant after birth on would be on the policy you put the baby on.
Like I said earlier. Federal Law states pregnancy can not be considered a pre-existing condition. So the insurance carrier for your new employer can not decline to cover the costs of pregnancy/birth. Note this only apply to group policies and not an individual policy you would go and purchase yourself.
That is really fishy.
IANAL but here is my understanding of federal law:
If a plan offers coverage for dependent children, they must also offer maternity benefits. If a company is an Equal Employment Opportunity employer, then any health plan they offer must include maternity benefits (because EEO employers are not allowed to discriminate against pregnant women). However, if an employer is not EEO, and if their health plan does not cover dependent children, then they are not required to cover maternity. It is possible that your employer satisfies both of these conditions, but that would be... weird.
Maternity benefits must cover, at a minimum, a 48-hour hospital stay for labor or a 96-hour hospital stay for C-section.
If they cover dependent children, they must allow you to enroll your newborn within 30 days of birth, regardless of how long ago you got on the plan.
Federal law does not require them to cover any health issues arising in the mother after she is discharged from the hospital after birth - but most plans will anyway.
There may be additional state laws compelling even further levels of coverage depending on where you live.
I'd get some clarification from your insurance company. Specifically, basing any policy on the conception date is really suspicious to me because conception can only be estimated, not pinpointed.