Maternity Care Not Covered By Employer?
Is it true that Obamacare requires all insurance companies to cover the cost of pregnancy care, including labor and delivery?
I am inquiring because we have had Anthem Blue cross for years thru my husbands work. Which includes myself, my husband, and our daughter, now 17 and pregnant.
Originally, we apparently opted not to cover pregnancy. However, after several phone calls and a huge bill they refuse to cover our daughters pregnancy.
We are getting very discouraged due to the fact that medi-cal has denied her also, stating she has private insurance, which is true. However, Anthem will not allow us to drop her from our policy, due to their policy. My daughter needs paternal care and we cannot afford to pay out of pocket. Any suggestions?
Answer
Maternity care is covered under all private health plans sold in the Individual and Family market, but employer plans can include an opt-out. Sure it saves knowing families a dollar or two, but it leaves families like yours facing the worst of what being underinsured has to offer.
This problem is even worse for women's health services related to contraception, there are often two plans that look exactly the same... but one does include contraceptive coverage. It's not like it's clear from the benefits, you need to dig to find out why the plans only have a $1 difference in cost.
Here is one option: Don't claim her as a dependent, that means that she would no longer has access to the family plan, then she qualifies for Medi-cal, and then you see if she can retroactively qualify. There are also a number of private charities who will cover at least part of the bills, if you apply. Good luck, it's a frustrating situation that no family should be put in.
Next time we hear someone complaining about that extra $1 for women's services, we should all point out why the ACA tries to make women's health services a right and not a privilege for those who read the fine print.