Fifteen percent of American women do not have maternity health insurance and face overwhelming medical bills, especially if there are medical complications. Here's how to get low cost maternity health insurance that could save you from financial disaster.
What is maternity health insurance?
Maternity health insurance is a health insurance plan that includes maternity coverage. As of this writing there are no stand-alone maternity health insurance plans.
You can purchase one of the following types of plans to get maternity coverage:
* An indemnity plan which lets you choose your own doctor and hospital, but is the most expensive type of plan.
* A managed health care plan (HMO, PPO, POS) that assigns you to a network of doctors and hospitals that you use for your medical care. These are the cheapest types of plans.
What does maternity health insurance cover?
Standard maternity health insurance policies cover your doctors expenses, your hospital fees, and your prescriptions drugs - basically all your maternity medical expenses.
Can I get maternity health insurance if I'm already pregnant?
Private insurance companies will not insure you if you're already pregnant, but some states offer Medicaid health insurance, or plans such as California's Medi-Cal, to low income families. To see if your your state has a low income maternity health insurance program, visit your state's department of insurance website.
If you're pregnant and don't qualify for state sponsored maternity health insurance, the best thing you can do is call the hospitals in your area and see if you can negotiate a cheaper than normal rate. Most hospitals will give you a discount if you pay cash.
Where can I get cheap maternity health insurance?
The best way to get cheap maternity health insurance is to go to an insurance comparison website where you can get rate quotes from multiple insurance companies.
Monday, May 12, 2008
Low Cost Minnesota Health Insurance
Looking for a health insurance plan in Minnesota that won't cost you an arm and a leg? Here's how to find low cost Minnesota health insurance with a reliable carrier.
Minnesota State Health Insurance
Minnesota has a number of state-sponsored insurance programs for low income individuals and families. These include:
* The Minnesota Medical Assistance program, which provides health care for low income Minnesotans. This program is different than Medicare which is a federally sponsored program for people over 65 and people with disabilities.
* The Minnesota General Assistance Medical Care program, which provides health care for low income Minnesotans who are not eligible for state sponsored or federally sponsored health care programs.
* The Minnesota Care Plan, which provides health care for low income, uninsured working Minnesotans.
For more information about these Minnesota health insurance programs call your county's human services agency, or go to the Minnesota Department of Health Website at: health.state.mn.us/healthcare.html.
Private Health Insurance
There are two types of health insurance plans that are available in Minnesota. They are:
* Fee-for-service plans (also known as indemnity plans), which pay for all or most of your doctor fees, hospital fees, and prescription drug costs after you pay a deductible (usually $500 to $2,000). These plans let you choose your doctor and hospital and are the most expensive of the health care plans.
* Managed health care plans, including HMOs, PPOs, and POSs, which pay for your your doctor fees, hospital fees, and prescription drug costs after you pay a co-payment (usually $5 to $10 per doctor visit). With these plans you are assigned to a network of doctors and hospitals. PPOs and POSs let you use a non-network doctor or hospital for an additional fee. HMOs are the cheapest of all the health care plans, followed by PPOs and POSs.
Low Cost Health Insurance
To get low cost health insurance you need to shop rates. The easiest way to do that is to go online to an insurance comparison website.
Minnesota State Health Insurance
Minnesota has a number of state-sponsored insurance programs for low income individuals and families. These include:
* The Minnesota Medical Assistance program, which provides health care for low income Minnesotans. This program is different than Medicare which is a federally sponsored program for people over 65 and people with disabilities.
* The Minnesota General Assistance Medical Care program, which provides health care for low income Minnesotans who are not eligible for state sponsored or federally sponsored health care programs.
* The Minnesota Care Plan, which provides health care for low income, uninsured working Minnesotans.
For more information about these Minnesota health insurance programs call your county's human services agency, or go to the Minnesota Department of Health Website at: health.state.mn.us/healthcare.html.
Private Health Insurance
There are two types of health insurance plans that are available in Minnesota. They are:
* Fee-for-service plans (also known as indemnity plans), which pay for all or most of your doctor fees, hospital fees, and prescription drug costs after you pay a deductible (usually $500 to $2,000). These plans let you choose your doctor and hospital and are the most expensive of the health care plans.
* Managed health care plans, including HMOs, PPOs, and POSs, which pay for your your doctor fees, hospital fees, and prescription drug costs after you pay a co-payment (usually $5 to $10 per doctor visit). With these plans you are assigned to a network of doctors and hospitals. PPOs and POSs let you use a non-network doctor or hospital for an additional fee. HMOs are the cheapest of all the health care plans, followed by PPOs and POSs.
Low Cost Health Insurance
To get low cost health insurance you need to shop rates. The easiest way to do that is to go online to an insurance comparison website.
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