Uninsured and pregnant?

Question

(I’m sorry in advance if this doesn’t belong in this group)
I had a full time RN job at a hospital before Covid-19, when the virus started I decided to leave my job and be a travel nurse to help through the various facilities that needed help. I ended up losing my insurance when I quit my job. We had been trying for three plus years with no luck. I took a test two nights ago and it was positive (YAY) however, I now have no health insurance and I make “too much” to be qualified for Medicare. My boyfriend and I aren’t married so I don’t qualify for his insurance. I looked at buying health insurance outright and it was almost $700 a month!!!! 
-I know this sounds irresponsible and I feel so dumb for putting myself in this situation. Do you ladies have any advice?

Answer

you guys should check his ins again . i know you’re not married but we were in the same situation . i was unemployed so my boyfriend was able to add me to his policy because of the life event (pregnancy) & i was added as “domestic partner” because we do live together . & now fast forward 4 months (still pregnant) i have ins through my job & our doctors office accepts both of our ins so we are only paying like 10.00 doctors bills after they billed both ins companies first .

Answer

My labor & delivery was 25 thousand dollars. My first & only baby so i don’t know if that’s in the higher range but if you don’t have insurance, all the appointments & tests can put you in the poor house.

Answer

I just pay the cash rate at each appointment. With an ultrasound it usually comes to around $120 at my doctor’s office. 
So ask around to get cash rates

Answer

Well dang! I would probably try looking for a midwife that works w/ an OB, they’re not as expensive as obs alone (this is based off my own research) they’re just as good as any ob, it would only change if you’re pregnancy is high risk, then you would need an ob and a high risk doc. But anyways, for the first and second trimester, you’re only going every 4 weeks, I personally go ever 5 weeks. And then, starting 28 weeks, you’ll go every 2 weeks and then the very end you’ll have to go every week. So you’ll be paying to see the midwife, any care that usually isn’t too pricey, and labs. A reg pregnancy should only need 2-3 ultrasounds in your entire pregnancy. So out of everything that would probably be the most expensive.
I would maybe think about staying local after the first and second trimester because once the third hits and you have to visit every week or every two weeks, It’ll get hard with wherever you are.

Answer

I'd see about negotiating a cash price with an OB. Are you going to stop travelling or stay local and travel so you can have continuity of care? You just have to have appointments every month for a while so theoretically you could travel until about halfway, a little over in the pregnancy and save as much as you can. That's honestly what I'd probably do. He should be able to cover the baby with his insurance until you find a more permanent gig. 
Insurance is basically highway robbery in this country, but unfortunately you need it. Some travel companies will also offer you insurance while you're travelling so look into that too.

Uninsured and pregnant?

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