Maternity Health Insurance - Fill Gaps With Additional Coverage

Many health insurance plans with maternity coverage come with unexpected holes. Group plans often come with hospital deductibles or co pays. Starting or growing a family is expensive enough without these extra bills. Hospital indemnity insurance is a great way to plug these holes. It pays a cash benefit directly to the insured for her normal labor and delivery, and may pay additional benefits in case of a hospitalization prior to delivery, due to delivery complications, for premature birth, and more.

As group health insurance premiums continue to spiral ever higher, employers look for ways to keep health insurance premiums in check. One of the favorite tricks is to introduce hospital deductibles and co-pays. The thought process works for the majority of employees. In a typical year 90% of employees or more will never step foot inside a hospital. Everybody enjoys slightly lower health insurance premiums, and only a handful of employees get stuck paying the hospital deductible or co-pay.

One group ends end feeling the pinch the most: couples planning a pregnancy. It's a normal step in many families' lifecycle. Even when mom and baby are perfectly healthy, a hospital stay comes as part of the package, and along with that comes a hefty deductible or co payment. Ouch!

But not every pregnancy goes as smoothly as hoped. Many pregnancies experience complications requiring mom to be hospitalized prior to her delivery, possibly adding to left over expenses. One out of eight babies is born premature, and may require a stay in the hospital's neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). Many deductibles have individual limits, coupled with higher family limits. Just when you think you've satisfied your hospital deductible with mom's stay, your infant's stay bumps it even higher. And what if you have multiples confined to the NICU? Depending upon the policy, the extra costs can really add up.

Hospital Indemnity Insurance is a great way for couples planning a pregnancy to fill these holes, and rest easier at night. The programs pay a cash benefit directly to the insured for mom's hospital stay for her normal labor and delivery. Some programs pay a single lump sum per hospital admission, while others will also pay an additional benefit based upon the total days of hospital confinement. The benefit for normal delivery may greatly exceed the premium paid if timed well.

In addition, hospital indemnity insurance may also pay additional benefits if mom is confined to the hospital prior to delivery. Many policies will contain exclusions if you are re-admitted to the hospital for the same or similar condition within a specified number of days. A policy with a ninety-day exclusion might pay benefits for a hospitalization in during two different trimesters in addition to normal delivery.

Hospital indemnity coverage shines through when premature birth is taken into account. Your infant's hospitalization is often automatically covered during the first thirty days of birth. The extra benefit will really help out if you encounter some of the deductible scenarios noted above. In addition, multiple pregnancies often are delivered early. Pre term deliveries are most likely to result in a NICU stay. Your hospital indemnity policy may pay an additional benefit for each infant.

Make sure your coverage begins before getting pregnant.

A Guide to Medicare Supplement Insurance

If you are considering purchasing Medicare supplement insurance there are facts you need to know to make an informed decision. There are many advantages to buying this insurance but there are also a lot of popular misconceptions out there that need to be corrected before making a decision. Following is a discussion of these facts in detail.

This type of insurance is also known as Medigap insurance, because it is intended to cover gaps in your primary coverage through Medicare. In order to qualify for a Medigap policy it is usually required that you already have Medicare Parts A and B. Your premium for the new policy will be in addition to what you already pay for Medicare.

Medigap policies cover individuals only. If you purchase a policy for yourself, it will not cover your husband or wife. If you both need this coverage you need to purchase two separate policies.

Policies intended to cover gaps in Medicare coverage all offer standardized sets of benefits. These are grouped into Plans A-L and each plan provides a different level of coverage. No matter which insurance company you buy supplemental insurance from, Plans A-L will be consistent throughout. This means that the benefits from Plan A purchased through one company will be exactly the same as the benefits from Plan A purchased through a different company.

Companies that provide this type of insurance are allowed to set their own prices, so it pays to shop around and compare costs. In addition, each insurance company is not required to sell all of the plans, so you may be steered towards one of the plans they sell. For this reason, you should make sure you have information on each plan before committing to a purchase.

Another thing you may not have realized about the type of insurance known as Medigap is that it does not cover prescription drugs. This is because this type of coverage is already available as part of Medicare Parts A and B. If you do not have insurance coverage for prescriptions, visit the Medicare website and find out how to get it under their plans. Buying supplemental insurance because you think it will cover prescriptions would be a mistake.

Finally, it is illegal to sell any individual duplicate Medicare supplement insurance. Because it is intended to cover gaps in Medicare coverage and all plans across each company that sells it are the same, there is no need for more than one of this type of policy. US regulations have therefore made it illegal for people to try to sell you an unnecessary policy to protect your rights.

Must-See Websites For California Seniors on Medicare

You live in California, you're a senior and you are on Medicare. You're looking for information on health care services, senior resources, Medicare news, Medigap insurance or a similar topic and you don't know where to look.

"It's important that California seniors are aware of how and where to access information about their Medicare and health needs," suggests Alan Weinstock, insurance broker. With that in mind, here are some websites that California seniors may find come in handy.

California Department for the Aging

If you need assistance with your Medicare choices, the California Department for the Aging website is the place to visit. As part of the national network of State Health Insurance and Assistance Programs (SHIP), this is the website you can visit to get information on your nearest HICAP (Health Insurance Counseling and Advocacy Program) office.

HICAP offices provide free community education and unbiased and confidential assistance in selecting the best Medicare plan for you. These programs help Medicare beneficiaries understand their prescription drug coverage, Medicare Advantage plans, Medicare supplemental policies, Medicare savings programs and long-term care insurance. The counselors at the HICAP offices are trained to assist you with enrollment, applications, claims filing and preparing Medicare appeals.

At this site you can find information for supportive services, in-home services, congregate and in-home meals, multi-purpose senior centers, and community service employment. There are also links to programs for advocacy and protection, health insurance counseling, case management, Alzheimer's day care resource center services and adult day health care throughout California.

California Health Advocates California Health Advocates (CHA) is a non-profit organization focused on Medicare advocacy and education for Californians. Their goal is to provide accurate and unbiased information about Medicare benefits and long-term care for people who live in California.

California beneficiaries and their families can find Medicare information organized by topic, with English and Spanish podcasts available in several sections. They support the state's HICAPs through their trainings, technical assistance and educational materials for California Medicare beneficiaries.

In addition, CHA offers Senior Medicare Patrol (SMP) projects, which help Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries avoid, detect and prevent health care fraud. SMPs recruit and teach nearly 5,000 volunteers nationwide every year. Most SMP volunteers are both retired and have Medicare, and are thus well-positioned to assist their peers.

Medicare Supplement Insurance

Seniors on Medicare who are looking to add a Medicare supplement insurance (also known as Medigap) policy may want to check out this website where they can compare rates, plans and benefits from several prominent insurance companies all at one convenient location.

Finding resources on the Internet that provide quality information about topics important to seniors like Medicare is important. And these are just a few websites that can help.