Hellobee Boards

It definitely depends on what kind of coverage your husband's employer provides. People pay anywhere from just a few hundred to thousands. We have a $5000 deductible, so we will have to pay $5000 out of pocket before our insurance kicks in. Of course, you'll still be paying the monthly premium on top of that.

My insurance plan works like this: I have a $500 deductible I have to pay out of my own pocket, and after that I am responsible for 20% of payment and the insurance picks up the other 80%. After I have spent a total of $2000 out of pocket for the year, insurance will cover everything 100%. I also have to pay a co-pay at my doctor visits ($25 each time), which does not count towards my out of pocket costs for the year.

I would call what I have a good plan. Some don't even have maternity coverage meaning that none of my prenatal, labor, or delivery would be covered. I also am in a good position because my employer pays my monthly premium each month 100%. I think that is pretty rare. Most people have to pay at least a portion of the monthly premium if they have a plan through work.

Hope that wasn't too confusing.

@highwire: I am SO jealous of your plan! I would kill for a $500 deductible & no monthly premium! We pay $200/month and still have a $5000 deductible. :(

My insurance works like this: We don't pay a deductible and the insurance covers 90% of everything. We pay only 10%. We also pay copays ($25 for a regular doctor and $35 for a specialist). The downside to that is my husband has a little more money taken out of his paychecks.

@Leialou: what would 10% be? Naive socialist me would have thought it only cost a couple thousand dollars total to have a baby, but clearly it's a lot more than I thought if some people's co-pays are 5 grand!

Not sure what my husband pays per month through work, but I only had one $20 copay at my first prenatal visit and a $250 copay for delivery. No other costs, prenatal and L&D covered 100%!

Just got the bill..delivery was over $20,000 for an uncomplicated l&d (4 hours start to finish!) and a total 36 hour stay.

@sorrycharlie: wow! I can't believe the plans vary so much. I guess we will have to take a good look at his company's plan if we do move.

I hate to leave our medical and maternity benefits at the exact time in my life that I can take advantage of them after paying into them for so long!

some of y'all's plans make me super depressed. ha. i would weep tears of joy if i could have a baby for $100.

@photojane: It was such a blessing to wind up with the plan that I do. I actually found out we were getting on an employer sponsored plan the same day I found out I was pregnant. The alternative was either to pay for it completely in cash, or get on my husband's policy which would have included a $600+ premium each much plus a similar plan ($500 deductible, plus another $1500 out of pocket max)

This all makes my head spin. I get stressed now worrying about how much our plans will cover for dental fillings, I can't imagine major costly procedures!!

@highwire: lol! I'm sure if we do move you all will be bombarded with questions! I've been spoiled up here!

Do plans vary by state (here healthcare is managed provincially) or does it depend entirely on your company? We are looking at the Colorado area if we move.

@highwire: I have heard nightmare stories about the private plans! I'm pretty sure the new ACA says all plans have to cover maternity benefits (not sure if it went through or is still stuck in government limbo) http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2012/06/28/a-supreme-win-for-women-the-crucial-benefits-of-obamacare.html
Also in the current individual insurance market, coverage for maternity care is routinely excluded. Only 12 percent of plans sold in the individual market offer maternity coverage, which is frequently inadequate because of long waiting periods and deductibles that can be as high as the cost of the birth itself. Once the Affordable Care Act—otherwise known as Obamacare—is fully implemented, about 8.7 million women will have guaranteed access to maternity and newborn care in all new individual and small group plans.
(Yes, I'm aware that this isn't the best 'source' of information!)

Doesn't it seem like the dad's insurance should cover maternity benefits too, anyway? I mean it's his kid in there. We were just wondering if we can use DH's flex spending money for delivery-- his baby, my body, you know?

I have a federal plan with BCBS PPO and my entire prenatal visits including all ultrasounds and giving birth were all paid for. I just had to pay a co-pay once? Our monthly premium is more than we used to pay but it's all worth it now. We never saw one hospital bill except when the anesthesiologist's office didn't update to my new insurance plan. But now i know how much all the drugs cost for a section - $2100.

On my husband's insurance plan, we have a $30 copay, zero deductible, and 100% of all services covered (if we go to an "in-network" provider). Surprisingly, we pay the exact same amount for BOTH of us on his plan, that I paid for just myself on my insurance prior to being married ($40 copay, $3000 deductible, and 80% of services covered). Insurance gets confusing!

DH works for a healthcare provider in our area, so once I'm on his insurance (in a few weeks), we'll have our maternity care 100% covered after we pay $50. I have to switch from a midwife to a doctor in their network and we'll have to pay the 20% of visits we've already attended, not covered on my current plan, but I'm ecstatic about his new benefits!

DH has really good health care. If we were giving birth in a network hospital, the costs would be 100% covered.

But we're planning a home birth (go figure), so we paid for the midwives out of pocket and are reimbursed 50%. Which is ultimately still cheaper than what a lot of people pay for the hospital.

I hope you get good coverage, @char54!

We paid nothing but we have a HMO.

@Shutterbug: The first way you describe seems to be how my prescription/dental/eyecare plan is. I pay a monthly deductible through work and then sometimes a small co-pay when I use a service. I've never heard of the 2nd way where people need to spend a certain amount of money first. Interesting!

Thanks everyone for your help....it's a lot more complicated than I thought!! Fingers crossed we can stay put here in Canada - we should know within the next month or so. I'm tired of having my life in limbo!! (We were supposed to know in June, then August, then October....)

@char54: as a fellow Canadian on her lovely 50 weeks of mat leave, I hope you stay too! :)

@sorrycharlie: Thats a lot! Mine was $14,000 with 2 days of labor and an emergency c-section. A total of 5 days in the hospital.