https://boards.hellobee.com/ Pregnancy, Baby and Parenting blog, by Hellobee en Sun, 26 Apr 2026 20:07:01 +0000 https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/is-your-lo-on-state-healthcare/page/2#post-816788 Thu, 30 May 2013 04:04:58 +0000 SugarplumsMom 816788@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>We live in Sweden and healthcare is partially funded locally, although it's a national healthcare system - everyone automatically has it. It's not need based. Everyone pays for it through taxes, no one thinks of it as a handout, it's just how it is. </p> <p>It took me awhile to get used to the idea of national healthcare, but now I just think of it as healthcare. I wish all the negative connotations associated with Medicaid just disappeared. Like here, it's paid through taxes. It's a right. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/is-your-lo-on-state-healthcare/page/2#post-816758 Thu, 30 May 2013 00:13:28 +0000 Rainbow Sprinkles 816758@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Man, reading this has alerted me to the fact that I know absolutely nothing about insurance or health care. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/is-your-lo-on-state-healthcare#post-814909 Wed, 29 May 2013 09:40:07 +0000 MaisyMay 814909@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@runsyellowlites: I have been hesitant to use programs in the past, saying that "well, we'll manage." But it's been hard. I'm looking into getting LO on a state insurance because that would save us nearly $200/month that we really could use to pay bills/pay down debt. And I know we'd have co-pays and such so it wouldn't be free. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/is-your-lo-on-state-healthcare#post-814770 Wed, 29 May 2013 08:53:46 +0000 deerylou 814770@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>DH and I are both on high deductible, PPO plans. Our employers pay our premiums, so we stay on separate plans because it makes more sense, financially. Our pregnancy and l&amp;d will end up costing us a few thousand, when all is said and done.</p> <p>We don't make a ton of money, but unfortunately, I did not qualify for Pregnancy Medicaid, and we are not within the income brackets to qualify for Healthy Families. However, our city offers Healthy Kids - a low deductible, low premium program for middle class families. If I return to work part-time, or decide to be a SAHM for the first year (this option is currently on the table), we will likely qualify for this program. We're waiting back on quotes to see how much it would cost to add LO to our Blue Shield plans through work, but I have a feeling, it's going to be very, very expensive, especially since it will up our deductible, and out of pocket maximums. Sigh. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/is-your-lo-on-state-healthcare#post-814589 Wed, 29 May 2013 07:13:34 +0000 regberadaisy 814589@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@yellowbird: I know, I'm shocked bc NY State pretty much sucks in all other benefits for the middle class. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/is-your-lo-on-state-healthcare#post-813841 Tue, 28 May 2013 16:15:00 +0000 teamjse 813841@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>LO is under my coverage at work. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/is-your-lo-on-state-healthcare#post-813588 Tue, 28 May 2013 14:46:12 +0000 yellowbird 813588@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I just looked it up to see what my state offers and we don't qualify for either program. I'm not really surprised or disappointed though because our programs are not very good. Jealous of you @regberadaisy because your state offers such a good plan! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/is-your-lo-on-state-healthcare#post-813578 Tue, 28 May 2013 14:44:22 +0000 MrsScallop 813578@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Yes, LO is currently on Medicaid. With me and DH being grad students, to put her on our student plans is ridiculously expensive (over $300 a month), so we initially applied to the state program. They came back to say we should apply to Medicaid first, and it turned out we qualified. I am super grateful that those programs are in place, otherwise things would be really tight (do-able, but tight). </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/is-your-lo-on-state-healthcare#post-813571 Tue, 28 May 2013 14:42:25 +0000 BlueWolverine 813571@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@yoursilverlining: Well said. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/is-your-lo-on-state-healthcare#post-813562 Tue, 28 May 2013 14:40:58 +0000 regberadaisy 813562@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@googly-eyes: hahah no, I didn't take it personally. :) I just didn't want people to think LO arrived with no health insurance! Who would cover her hospital costs? Not me! :P </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/is-your-lo-on-state-healthcare#post-813520 Tue, 28 May 2013 14:33:41 +0000 googly-eyes 813520@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@regberadaisy: I hope you weren't offended by my comment. Everyone I know IRL with kids on state insurance had it when they were pregnant so they knew their kids would get it. I personally just wouldn't want to leave it up to the state insurance, in case something fell through. Rather have 2 options than 1 as far as health care goes. But I wasn't making any judgment about your family! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/is-your-lo-on-state-healthcare#post-813037 Tue, 28 May 2013 12:01:49 +0000 yoursilverlining 813037@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>No; LO (and my husband and I) are on an employer-sponsed health plan and we wouldn't qualify for any state programs.</p> <p>I hope people who don't have insurance through their employer would take advantage of state or federal insurance programs, especially for their children. Medical bills bankrupt people every single day (even people *with* private insurance!), and if you don't have enough $$ to pay for out of pocket private insurance, you don't have enough $$ to cover some of those medical bills. My brother was in a freak accident in high school, in ICU for over a week and his medical bills were over 100k. Well over 100k (15 years ago!). Plus, I hate hearing that people don't take their kids to see a doctor/dentist/specialist as often as they want to or should because they are worried about the cost. Man, its your kids health - you shouldn't have to cut back on that because of a concern over money. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/is-your-lo-on-state-healthcare#post-813013 Tue, 28 May 2013 11:54:37 +0000 Lozza 813013@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@regberadaisy: Oh, I think CHP is a great program and that it often makes sense to switch options or find new ones as they come up- I'm just saying that I think HAVING health insurance for your kid is incredibly, super, really important and that researching your options and taking steps to ensure some kind of coverage (whether or not you end up staying with that coverage) is a key part of planning for having a kid.<br /> ETA: I don't mean you have to have your own employer-sponsored or self-purchased plan in place, but that you should either know that one of those is an option, or look into the various federal, state, or local options for care coverage and figure out whether any of those would work for you. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/is-your-lo-on-state-healthcare#post-812989 Tue, 28 May 2013 11:48:06 +0000 regberadaisy 812989@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@googly-eyes: @Lozza: our plan has always been to add her to my insurance. But we applied for CHP *after* she was born to see if she qualifies. And she did so paying $30/month is a lot cheaper than a family plan. Even now I get FREE family insurance through my employer but I"m opting to keep her on CHP and pay $30/month bc it's a much better plan. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/is-your-lo-on-state-healthcare#post-812984 Tue, 28 May 2013 11:46:23 +0000 Lozza 812984@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@googly-eyes: I agree- I didn't feel like we had to be in a perfect financial situation before having a kid, but having a plan for insurance (whether through an employer plan, which both DH and I have and which LO is currently on, or through a federal or state program) was one of the very few things on my "must-have" list! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/is-your-lo-on-state-healthcare#post-812973 Tue, 28 May 2013 11:41:54 +0000 plantains 812973@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>This thread is so informative! I'm going to pass this on to friends of mine who are sure need this info soon. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/is-your-lo-on-state-healthcare#post-812956 Tue, 28 May 2013 11:36:38 +0000 googly-eyes 812956@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>No. I doubt we qualify. We are all on insurance provided through dh's employer. For us personally, barring any "surprise" baby, we wouldn't have had a baby unless we knew we were going to get insurance. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/is-your-lo-on-state-healthcare#post-812927 Tue, 28 May 2013 11:29:05 +0000 lovehoneybee 812927@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>DS is on state insurance. We have a high-deductible plan and it would bury us in debt if something happened to E. With just the one income right now it seemed silly to not take advantage of the program (I mean that we qualify for it now and it's available, not that we're cheating the system). The HR rep at his company suggested it. </p> <p>With the program we don't pay for prescriptions, pedi or specialist visits and our ER co-pay is like $10. </p> <p>I don't think we'll qualify once I go back to work (he'll go on DH's ins) but for now it gives me great peace of mind to know we won't go into debt with medical bills if something happens. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/is-your-lo-on-state-healthcare#post-812904 Tue, 28 May 2013 11:23:44 +0000 Mrs. Jacks 812904@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@regberadaisy: It's hard in NYC I think because it costs a lot more to live, so benefits levels are probably higher, you know?</p> <p>Even if you have seen a lot, the absolute numbers and percentages are still really low. In my state, I see so many people who need those services and refuse them because they don't believe in a "hand out". I wonder if the two groups balance each other out. I know there is a certain proportion of kids who qualify but who do not sign up for benefits. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/is-your-lo-on-state-healthcare#post-812897 Tue, 28 May 2013 11:20:42 +0000 regberadaisy 812897@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Mrsbells: what state are you in? I thought NY? </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/is-your-lo-on-state-healthcare#post-812892 Tue, 28 May 2013 11:20:06 +0000 regberadaisy 812892@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Mrs. Jacks: I'm telling you I *know* there is a lot. As in lots of people I know personally. And seeing people pull out benefit cards at grocery stores then driving away in a Cadillac. I see this quite often in our grocery store with people who are in front of of us in line and they are still loading their cars when we leave the stores. </p> <p>There is just an insane amount of people who do it in NYC. But that's just a completely different topic. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/is-your-lo-on-state-healthcare#post-812856 Tue, 28 May 2013 11:09:51 +0000 looch 812856@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I researched it, but we do not qualify. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/is-your-lo-on-state-healthcare#post-812825 Tue, 28 May 2013 11:04:17 +0000 Mrs. Jacks 812825@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@runsyellowlites: Medicaid reimbursement is low, so I think they'd rather have you out and well than racking up charges in the hospital :)</p> <p>I think most of the fraud centers around billing for patients who are not really receiving services at all or billing for costly durable medical equipment that people don't need.</p> <p>But who knows? I know in our hospital the only real difference in practice is that we make sure we write scripts for medicaid patients for over the counter medicines so that they can get them covered by insurance, since some families don't have the money for costly over the counter meds. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/is-your-lo-on-state-healthcare#post-812818 Tue, 28 May 2013 11:03:26 +0000 Silva 812818@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>She is for now. We will add her to my husbands insurance when he starts in June. It was significantly less expensive to enroll her in state insurance than add her to mine. We are in Vermont and the insurance is excellent. No co-pays, huge network... We are very happy with it. We may keep her on after he starts, but need to compare plans/costs </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/is-your-lo-on-state-healthcare#post-812812 Tue, 28 May 2013 11:00:43 +0000 runsyellowlites 812812@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Mrs. Jacks: Oh I believe it! Tbh I have wondered if us (P &amp; I) being on Medicaid during her birth affected the treatment plans &amp; orders we had. I know that having a completely unmedicated vaginal birth with only a hep lock as intervention doesn't pay out much &amp; then the added orders for P along with keeping us extra days I know racked up what they could charge for. Of course it may not have swayed them but it does make me wonder.</p> <p>I also know a number of individuals that have lied about income to qualify for benefits.... Unmarried couples w/ children from another father very well off that didn't claim the boyfriend as living there or his income, etc. I could never be okay with doing that! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/is-your-lo-on-state-healthcare#post-812806 Tue, 28 May 2013 10:58:21 +0000 Bao 812806@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>No state health care, we are on DH's insurance through his job. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/is-your-lo-on-state-healthcare#post-812803 Tue, 28 May 2013 10:55:47 +0000 Mrsbells 812803@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>No LO is not on state health care, I doubt we qualify. we are all on a family plan through DH's employer </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/is-your-lo-on-state-healthcare#post-812801 Tue, 28 May 2013 10:54:22 +0000 allison 812801@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>My LO is on MC Medicaid, and I love it! I used a family doc during my pregnancy, and she is also his doc now. DH and I have a PPO plan, but it's high deductible, so we were really glad that E qualified for Medicaid, just in case something were to happen. I was also on Pregnancy Medicaid while pregnant. It was (and is) such a relief to not have to worry about cost of treatment when deciding if we should take him to the doctor or not (luckily, he's never needed to go in, so far). </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/is-your-lo-on-state-healthcare#post-812766 Tue, 28 May 2013 10:43:15 +0000 Mrs. Jacks 812766@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@regberadaisy: I think there is less fraud than you might think. Most of the fraud and abuse is perpetrated by health and durable medical equipment providers, not patients and their families.</p> <p><a href="http://www.gao.gov/assets/650/647849.pdf" rel="nofollow">http://www.gao.gov/assets/650/647849.pdf</a> </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/is-your-lo-on-state-healthcare#post-812760 Tue, 28 May 2013 10:41:58 +0000 winniebee 812760@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@runsyellowlites: It makes sense for you to take advantage of it. I think of a situation like what if G broke his arm or something - it could be a 20K bill and coudl drive you into bankruptcy. Take advtange! </p>