Deciding on a maternity health insurance plan in advance is always a good idea because it will be of great help in staying away from a number of difficulties at the time of pregnancy. In most of the cases, people forget to cherish the joy of having a baby simply because of financial burdens associated with it. All this happens because of higher medical expenses that are there in today’s time, so getting health coverage is an important decision to take.
A pregnant woman could potentially be subject to numerous medical complications that end up costing a lot of money. That doesn’t even include costs associated with actually delivering the baby.
In this case, a good maternity insurance policy is necessary. Maternity health insurance coverage is not at all like a medical insurance policy, and most of the insurance companies don’t generally cover prenatal period expenses without a specific request.
A number of complications can happen during pregnancy such as high blood pressure, gestational diabetes, infections, preeclampsia, preterm labour, or miscarriages. To make matters worse these precarious situations will almost certainly come with financial problems too.
Due to this, a good number of expectant women skip medical checkups.
Maternity Coverage
If your medical insurance policy doesn’t include pregnancy, then you don’t have to worry and cancel the policy. You can simply add a maternity coverage rider alongside your existing policy (something most insurance companies allow).
On the other hand, one needs to make sure that the rider is bought before the start of the pregnancy to make the most of the benefits. Purchasing prenatal health coverage three months to a year in advance of planning for a baby is recommended for optimum protection.
Benefits
If it isn’t already abundantly clear, prenatal insurance is extremely important for expecting mothers. Below is a list of what to look for when looking to add a maternity rider to your existing insurance policy, or when shopping around for a new insurer.
Hospital stay
Not all insurance providers spell this out, but many offer to cover hospital post-delivery hospital stays. This is not necessarily a direct benefit and will occasionally be referred to as a gift for the new mother. Either way, the amount is usually tied to your insurance premiums; and will often require a certain amount of time to pass before being activated.
Checkups for your newborn
Once your newborn baby arrives, you can get free health checkups for him or her as well. In addition to that, if there are any health issues, the maternity insurance policy can turn out to be a blessing in disguise for you.
Infant congenital defects
These generally range from defects that can be easily corrected (like cleft palate) or to more severe conditions (like Down’s syndrome). Either way, the insurer will cover a certain amount in the event a congenital defect is diagnosed. Which should cushion the blow of the more serious illnesses, or pay for minor surgical corrections.
Hospitalisation
A number of situations could result is either the mother or child being hospitalised, which is why it is important to ensure the best possible coverage should this happen. For the most part, insurance providers will pay a daily benefit for ICU stays for the parent or child (usually under separate riders). This should also cover incubator stays for premature deliveries.
Getting insurance for the duration of gestation has a variety of other benefits for the whole family, particularly for the mother-to-be. Because if the mother knows that she is completely insured she will not get any nightmares related to medical checkups and bills. All this is made possible by prenatal health insurance policies that cover every single angle, making the entire expectancy period stress free.
