[Tricia88]

Hi All,
I've been reading all these entries for days and I am so thrilled with all the info you all have provided. I started brand new last week and almost feel like a prepared pro. Still waiting for the book I ordered (thanks to advice here), but have a question about the distant future. IF I am blessed enough to get preggers, can anyone tell me if insurance will pay for an at-home birth? I want to be in one of those birthing pools (for the sanity of me and my baby!). NO HOSPITAL!!!! Please ease my mind about financial issues. Hard enough to afford a vial of sperm! Thank you all!!

 

[giggleblue]

you may want to look at the homebirth thread on this website. good luck!

 

[Tricia88]

Oh, Fantastic!!! Thank you!! Headed there now!

 

[Tricia88]

Well, spent two hours reading every single entry, which was wonderful and informative, but no mention about health insurance. So I will post the Q there as well as here...anyone know if insurance covers home births and/or midwife during it?
Thanks!!

 

[Tricia88]

Oops, being new here, it took some time, but I finally found a gazzillion other threads, so I am doing more research. Seems as if health insurance coverage of home births is a nightmare. This is not comforting at all.

 

[CrunchySmurf]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tricia88 Hi All, I've been reading all these entries for days and I am so thrilled with all the info you all have provided. I started brand new last week and almost feel like a prepared pro. Still waiting for the book I ordered (thanks to advice here), but have a question about the distant future. IF I am blessed enough to get preggers, can anyone tell me if insurance will pay for an at-home birth? I want to be in one of those birthing pools (for the sanity of me and my baby!). NO HOSPITAL!!!! Please ease my mind about financial issues. Hard enough to afford a vial of sperm! Thank you all!!

IME, it varies widely by company. It is really a question you will need to ask your company.

AFU, my insurance company most def. doesn't pay a single dime of anything -- not the birth, nor the midwife-provided prenatal care. Paying cash for it is a sacrifice we are willing to make.

However, not to leave you too discouraged, you should def. shop around and talk finances with any midwife you consider. It has been my experience that midwives consider homebirth so important, that many of them are willing to go far to help you achieve it - some examples I know of: being willing to charge less, payment plans, barter systems, etc. AFU, the midwife we have decided to use totally surprised me during the interview, when going over the costs, she informed us that she offers a $1500 discount

if you pay in full by the 36th week. We will *definitely* be making sure we do that!

 

[Tricia88]

Thank you, Smurf. I am disappointed that I have even MORE research to do than I thought, but good to know before I even start this process. *SIGH.*

 

[JustAnotherJenny]

I don't personally have any experience with this, but I have read that people in my area have had success in getting payment for home births. Although, my understanding is that it took FOREVER and they had to fight and fight. They paid for the birth upfront out of pocket and then got reimbursed from the insurance company.

I would suggest contacting your insurance company and pitching it to them from the aspect of how much money it would save them vs. a hospital birth. I do'nt know the exact figures, but it's thousands less! Make sure you get the names of each person that you speak with, date, time, and ask them to follow up with an email or letter summarizing your conversation. Keep EVERYTHING.

And don't take a no from the first person you speak with... I think many of them will refuse to pay at first. You should also clarify if it matters whether you have a CNM or a CPM. In my state, only CNM's are allowed to assist home births.

It may also behoove you to check into bordering states if you are close enough to them.. and see if there are midwives that do home births for less. You would also have to speak with your insurance about whether or not they are in the right network or whatever.

It's defnitely not an easy road, but I think if you start now maybe you'll be able to get them to agree to it. Good luck and keep us posted!

 

[lexbeach]

Moving to Homebirth.

Lex

 

[ilovejeff]

It's really going to depend on your state and your insurance company. My ins will pay 80% for HB, same as they would for hospital birth (although since HB is much less expensive than a hospital birth, our out of pocket is a lot less.)

Check with your insurance company. Your midwife may also be a great resource re: insurance billing.

 

[nashvillemidwife]

Only your insurance company can answer this question. Coverage differs even among policies within the same company. No one here can really answer this for you.

 

[Tricia88]

Thank you for sharing experiences and giving me some hope.

 

[GoldmanBaby09]

Our insurance won't cover hb

In fact, when I called to check, the guy on the phone kept saying "mid'wife'ery" isn't covered. It irked me even more that he couldn't even pronounce it right. We are paying $3k out of pocket for our birth, and I feel it is 110% worth it. If I wanted a hospital birth, the co-pay was $200 and the rest was covered. Why they will pay $30K for a c/s and not pay $3K for a hb is beyond me.

 

[wbg]

It definitely varies from company to company. The good thing is that you are not yet pregnant. That means, after you do your research, you can switch your coverage to a company that does cover home birth before you even conceive. It is time consuming and frustrating to deal with, but once you have found a provider that covers home birth then it is simply a matter of finding a MW who works in network. Good luck on your journey.

 

[nashvillemidwife]

Quote:

Originally Posted by GoldmanBaby09 Our insurance won't cover hb In fact, when I called to check, the guy on the phone kept saying "mid'wife'ery" isn't covered. It irked me even more that he couldn't even pronounce it right.

How do you know you're pronouncing it right?

I know plenty of midwives who say it that way. It's just different, not wrong, and the dictionary agrees.

 

[Overthemoon]

I read over our insurance plan documents and there was nothing excluding homebirth with a midwife but it was not listed as covered either. So I called them and asked. They asked me if she was certified to which I responded that our state does not require that, and they agreed with me on that. They said it was not excluded from coverage and said yes they will pay for the homebirth as an out of network provider and advised we submit a preapproval so we could see what would be paid. I printed out the form and gave that to my midwife and she submitted that to them. I also asked at the time if they would pay for labs, ultrasounds etc. and they said yes all that would be covered.

My best advice is to call an ask them. If my insurance company said "no" I would have gone to the board about it. Our family was able to have the benefits changed for the entire police department after our dd's liver transplant. So for us the squeaky wheel has proved to make a good difference.

 

[DahliaRW]

It will depend on your plan. Mine covers 100%, but that's not all so common.

 

[Tricia88]

That is wonderful news!! So the plan is to look for a company that will cover HB. It is great to know they exist. And if I can't find one, then knowing it may only be around $3,000 is not a bad pill to swallow. Thank you everyone for your help!! WHEW!!

 

[GoldmanBaby09]

Quote:

Originally Posted by nashvillemidwife How do you know you're pronouncing it right? I know plenty of midwives who say it that way. It's just different, not wrong, and the dictionary agrees.

I have always heard it pronounced "mid'wiff"ery". Maybe it is a regional thing I was unaware of, as you are in the south, and I'm on the west coast (I'm in Reno now, but from the Bay Area and have only heard it pronounced that way). If so, I apologize. To me, it just felt like an added frustration that not only would the insurance company (who is local) not entertain the idea of paying for a HB, they couldn't even get the word right.

 

[GoldmanBaby09]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tricia88 That is wonderful news!! So the plan is to look for a company that will cover HB. It is great to know they exist. And if I can't find one, then knowing it may only be around $3,000 is not a bad pill to swallow. Thank you everyone for your help!! WHEW!!

And really, that price might not be any more than you would have had to pay for a hospital birth, depending on what was done to you and what your coverage is like. My MW does it on kind of a sliding scale. If you do have insurance that pays for it, she charges the insurance company about $5K for the birth. If she is working with a family that has to pay out of pocket, she drops it down to the $3K, and allows payments through out your prenatal care so it is more manageable.