How to pay for the Midwife

[Debstmomy]

Hi Ladies, DH and I are trying to figure a few financial things out. Our HMO does not cover Homebirth. We do have a Flex Health bennifit plan that covers phyiscian fees, pharmacuticals, specialist fees, and a wide variety of other things. It does not say anything specifically about midwifery fees. Has anyone used Flex Heatlh bennifits to pay for their midwife?
(Flex Health bennifits are where monies are taken out of your paycheck, before taxes, to be used for medical expenses. It is purely a tax savings plan, but for us, this would be great as the $$ is all available on 1/1/05 and is paid back in equal installments via pay roll deduction throughout the year.)
Any help is appreciated.

[sadean]

It is a great idea and one we considered for our current peanut, but our timing was off. I would call the org. that does the actual reimbursements for your FS plan and ask them directly if midwifery fees would be covered if you sumbitted payment invoices. I know mine covers almost everything I can think of (co-pays, acupuncture/pressure, vision, chiropractic care, etc.), so it is worth asking before you approve the 2005 deductions being made (can you tell I am going through the "enrollment period" right now too :LOL ).

[Graceoc]

We did use a plan like that to pay the $500 for our Doula for my daughter's birth (it was a birthcenter birth covered by insurance) He switched jobs and didn't have that option this time - but it would have been nice. I

[heket]

I'm so happy you brought this up because it hadn't occurred to me to do this with my job! Dh and I are meeting a MW next week, and I've been stressing how we might be able to afford her service. We not in the best shape to pay this out of pocket. I'd love to know what you find out for your job (if you're willing to share...)

[lauren]

I used to be in a flex benefit plan and my sense was that you could use it for "alternative" health care, which a midwife would certainly qualify for. She might need to sign something to confirm pregnancy or something. Can you call the plan administrator to check?

[Debstmomy]

Thanks for the help ladies. I should call them, but will scan their website a little bit more to try to figure it out myself. (It is flexamerica.com, if you want to peek) To me, seems if they will cover contact solution, they should cover midwifery care!!!!
Thanks again.

[heket]

Just curious if you found the answer you're looking for...

I checked the plan offered through my work, contacted the customer service department of the company,... lo and behold midwives were included under OB/ Gyn care. I'll be putting the paperwork into motion this week. HB here we come! :thumb

[meowee]

yes-- we did, and we live in NY.

[Debstmomy]

Yes we did. It is covered. I called and asked them if obstetrical services outside our medical group were covered & they said YES! Today I asked my midwife if she would provide us recipets as paid to submit for reimbursment payment, before we actually pay for it and she said she would. (Shh, don't tell the IRS!) This way we do not pay first & then get reimburst, that would really be hard since just the actual payroll deduction will make things tight.
Good luck to everyone else, and if you have this bennifit, go for it!

[heket]

Today I asked my midwife if she would provide us recipets as paid to submit for reimbursment payment, before we actually pay for it and she said she would. (Shh, don't tell the IRS!) This way we do not pay first & then get reimburst, that would really be hard since just the actual payroll deduction will make things tight.

Wow, wish I'd thought of that! Dh gets an extra paycheck this month, so I'm going to use that as the stater money for payment, submit my reimbursement and then use that for future payments...

:LOL and it sound like you have a roving EDD too. We're shooting for mid-April, but my hmo seems to think the end of March.

[Spark]

Here's a really good resource thread on ways to pay for homebirth if you want to check it out. :hippie

http://www.mothering.com/discussions/showthread.php?t=99406