I am pregnant and no insurance

[Allegro]

Hello everyone!
I am pregnant and I do not have any insurance.our family does not qualify for Madicaid or Cheap. I live in Houston. Somebody told me at fist I need a physican then ginecologist. I do not know what I have to do, where I need to go. I just know pregnancy and delivery are very expensive. Maybe someone know where is cheap in which clinika. And what will I do at first. I am pregnant and what is the next step. I am confused. I will apreciate your advice. Sorry for my poor English
Thanks a lot

[IdentityCrisisMama]

Hi, and welcome to MDC. In many, many states pregnant women are insured because of most state's dedication to insuring their infants and children. I recommend contacting some aid offices and, even if you are declined, appeal.  In my state, for instance, there are many layers of state insurance.

I would also try Planned Parenthood. I have found them to be a wonderful resource for well woman care. 

Also, I noticed you apologized for your English. If you are an immigrant, there are likely services specifically targeted to helping you navigate the system. I would start there if I were you. 

Another thought is to contact something like Catholic charities. It's not my thing, but you may find some support there (I have NO experience with that -- just trying to give you as many ideas as possible). 

You do not need to see a physician - you can go directly to a hospital birth midwife, an OB, or a homebirth midwife. Homebirth, if you are inclined in that way, can be significantly less expensive than hospital birth. 

[Allegro]

Thank you so much for replying. Your advice will help me:)

[LoveChild421]

Hi, you may not normally qualify for medicaid or government health insurance due to too high income, but the income limits change if you are pregnant.  I normally have too high an income to qualify, but when I was pregnant I did qualify for Medicaid through the Right from the Start Medicaid program.  Apply again at DFACS office and see what they say to do after that.  There are usually other programs through the local health department that are discounted if you don't qualify.  If documentation of immigration status is an issue, I would go to the health department, they will help you and don't require documentation.  Congrats!

[Allegro]

Wow!!!it sounds great! I did not know about it. I am going to apply for Medicaid now.
Thank you so much for help!!!

[Greenlea]

If you do not qualify for medicaid, even while pregnant (happened to me) please know that most midwives will give a discount if you are paying cash. The hospital based midwife I talked to about it was charging $3550 for everything including pre-natal and delivery then if you were paying cash they gave a discount as well (like 15% I think?) And I know hospitals will give discounts too. The hospital I had my son at looked at your income AND your bills to see what you could afford.

If you are open to a homebirth, you can find an underground or lay midwife for about 1/2 as much as a Certified Nurse Midwife too. A homebirth with a CNM usually runs around $4000, they will usually give a discount if you're paying cash as well, and then there's no hospital costs on top of it.

[JudiAU]

Texas has poor medicaid benefits in general. Here are the state's income guidelines for pregnant woman who apply for Medicaid:

http://www.hhsc.state.tx.us/Help/healthcare/women.shtml

en espanol http://www.hhsc.state.tx.us/index_sp.shtml

If you don't qualify, seek help through a local non-profit clinic or seek out a homebirth midwife.

[Allegro]

Thank for usefull information. Thanks everybody for advice

[Allegro]

It seems I will not qulify for medicaid ((
Thank you for link

[alaskanmomma]

Are you sure you aren't eligible for your states pregnancy Medicaid? The income level is a lot higher on being eligible than it is for regular Medicaid. I'd suggest going in and talking to a case worker, bring in pay stubs, unemployment forms, proof of pregnancy, rental receipts, etc. I was approved for my states pregnancy Medicaid even though online said I wasn't.

If you do get denied, I'd say your best bet, financially, is to look for a home birth midwife. Of course, you can't guarantee you won't be high risk or need a transfer, but if all goes good, it's considerably cheaper, by thousands of dollars.

[erinmattsmom88]

Double-check with the Medicaid. I know that there is a thing called Medicaid for pregnant women. It's easier to qualify for, and it will cover you until your postpartum visit or a little longer. They may even continue the insurance for your new baby and any other children in the family. I know this from experience with my second pregnancy. Got caught by surprise when I moved to a new state a few years ago and I got coverage... just for the pregnancy and postpartum time period only. My son would have been able to stay on it and I could have gotten my daughter covered too. We ended up moving to another state two months after he was born. Anyway, double check on that.

[phathui5]

I would recommend getting in touch with your local midwives and seeing how they can work with you on payment.

[Greenlea]

I'm not too surprised about the medicaid. I wasn't eligible when I was pregnant with my 2nd, and they tried everything (moving around numbers, adding in every bill I had) and we were still making too much.

[dayiscoming2006]

Hey, I'm in TX too. Here's the link for income eligibility. There are 2 pregnancy programs. Medicaid or CHIP perinatal. 

Here's a link with more info if you didn't find it yet. http://www.hhsc.state.tx.us/Help/healthcare/women.shtml

Also, homebirth midwives are far less expensive than paying out of pocket for hospitals. And my experience with hospitals are less than stellar, so if you can afford it, I'd look into it as an option. 

[Allegro]

Thank everybody for many advices )