approved for HB with BCBS!

[engineer_mom]

I just had to share!
I have a federal BCBS basic plan with no out of network coverage.

I had been worried (even though I went through this one other time) and I had been thinking of changing my insurance so I could get out of network benefits. But I don't need to!!! woohoo!

whew..now I can relax!

[JustJenny]

That's great! May I ask what state you're in? Did they give you a hard time?

[*Christa*]

Can I ask how you did it? I have Providence with no out of network coverage, so I am curious how you got past that.

[Kidzaplenty]

Congratulations!

[scbegonias]

congrats! i'd love to hear how you did it.

[gabeyho]

I would also love to hear about it...PPO or HMO, and what state are you in?

[frenchkissed]

Wow, congrats! I was lying awake last night thinking about petitioning the out-of-network rates under my BCBS PPO plan, because my homebirth midwife is out-of-network-- in fact, there are NO in-network CNMs in my area at all! I have a $1000 deductible to meet and then BCBS will reimburse 50% of the charges until I meet the out-of-pocket maximum of $4k. If my mdiwife were in-network, they would reimburse 80% and the out-of-pocket max would be only $1500. So, I am also very curious as to how you went about it.

-K.

[Rodeo Mama]

We also have federal BCBS with no out of network coverage. What state are you in and what did you have to do to get it covered? Did you just file for an exception? I'm guessing we have the same plan and I've had a hard time dealing with the insurance up to this point.

[MayLibertySprout]

[laughingfox]

Woohoo! Congrats!

Just out of curiosity, what kind of homebirth professional are you seeing? CNM, CPM, MD?

[engineer_mom]

I'm just bubbling.

NJ
PPO plan
CNM

I called up the customer service line and said there were no in network midwives who practice outside the hospital. They said yes there are (and started naming hospital midwives). And we went back and forth. They told me I didn't qualify for a gap exception under these circumstances. And I told them that I did for my last birth, and to check my file. They still claimed they couldn't send me to the special case department (where I think I went last time). After sending me to another department (I can't remember which one), that lady also mimiced the first. But she said that I should call up whomever I dealt with last time. So I did. And then I didn't recieve any response for over a month. Finally I got through to the lady and she seemed to have pushed it through (I mentioned that I needed to know before open season ended). She got approval for me to go through the CNM from my last birth and is negotiating with her right now.

I had been really worried for awhile that I wasn't going to make any headway with the customer service department. Or the lady I dealt with last time!

[Mom2Blessings]

Yay for BCBS! I just found out today my BCBS through Idaho will cover mine as well!
(For anyone wondering details regaring what we found out for our BCBS plan We have to pay our $100 co-pay and then we have a $1000 max. (anything over that is covered at 100%), and everything else is covered. It was out of network and I believe they are covering 75% of it and then everything over my $1000...I was very happy about that! Which I wasn't happy about having to pay for a hospital birth but I'll gladly pay for a home birth!)

[cocoanib]

Wow, that almost seems too easy. I had BCBS PPO previously and it was going to be horrible dealing with them conscerning HB. That's why we decided to use my DH's insurance and I am still going through it with them.
After speaking to my midwife many times about this, I'm starting to think that it depends on the area, the agents you deal with and how cooperative insurance companies actually want to be.

[tvantol]