Insurance for newborns?
April 5, 2014 12:02 PM Subscribe
I need to insure my newborn. Snowflakes inside.
Caveats:
My health insurance at work won't be valid past August and to add her would be fairly expensive (about $5000 extra a year!). My husband is on independent insurance and adding her as a dependent would be prohibitively expensive as well. Our income will put us beyond any state-sponsored programs (we make well over the $50,000 limits most states seem to have). She's healthy and normal.
1. We've been out of the country for a year and don't really understand the Affordable Heathcare Act and what our options are there.
2. We are moving to Florida in June.
3. Child was born three weeks ago.
4. My health insurance may or may not be available to me in the summer/fall. I will find that out in a couple of weeks.
5. I believe she needs to be insured by 30 days or 45 days? I'm not 100% sure because I've heard both.
Any suggestions?
Caveats:
My health insurance at work won't be valid past August and to add her would be fairly expensive (about $5000 extra a year!). My husband is on independent insurance and adding her as a dependent would be prohibitively expensive as well. Our income will put us beyond any state-sponsored programs (we make well over the $50,000 limits most states seem to have). She's healthy and normal.
1. We've been out of the country for a year and don't really understand the Affordable Heathcare Act and what our options are there.
2. We are moving to Florida in June.
3. Child was born three weeks ago.
4. My health insurance may or may not be available to me in the summer/fall. I will find that out in a couple of weeks.
5. I believe she needs to be insured by 30 days or 45 days? I'm not 100% sure because I've heard both.
Any suggestions?
Some states have a well kids program that covers children, eligibility depending on income. This may be less expensive than employer insurance. Healthcare.gov links to state's CHIP programs to apply, check eligibility.
posted by Jazz Hands at 12:38 PM on April 5, 2014 [1 favorite]
posted by Jazz Hands at 12:38 PM on April 5, 2014 [1 favorite]
Oh, and of course you are moving to Florida, where they don't WANT healthy, educated children. You may have to pay for a few months' premiums and when you get down to to Florida and settled in, if you no longer qualify for employer coverage, maybe a new family plan in the Marketplace(with the subsidy if you qualify) will be a less expensive option that covers the whole family.
posted by Jazz Hands at 12:44 PM on April 5, 2014
posted by Jazz Hands at 12:44 PM on April 5, 2014
IANAIP but this is what I would do: Add her to your plan now since her birth is a "qualifying event" during which you can change coverage in the 30 days following. Unfortunately they have you over a barrel when it comes to cost, but you don't want her to be uninsured. Then once you are settled in Florida in June, begin exploring your options by using community/state/ACA resources. When you lose your insurance in August, that will trigger another "qualifying event" where you will be eligible to change her to another plan within 30 days.
Depending on the circumstances of your losing your insurance, you might be eligible for COBRA, which guarantees continuation of coverage through your employer's plan assuming you are willing to pay 102% of the premium.
But someone please correct me if any of the above is incorrect.
posted by Sweetie Darling at 1:37 PM on April 5, 2014 [2 favorites]
Depending on the circumstances of your losing your insurance, you might be eligible for COBRA, which guarantees continuation of coverage through your employer's plan assuming you are willing to pay 102% of the premium.
But someone please correct me if any of the above is incorrect.
posted by Sweetie Darling at 1:37 PM on April 5, 2014 [2 favorites]
Does the rate go up per person on your plan, or is it just "individual" or "family"? With both my and my husband's plans, it's the latter, and while it's cheaper for us to each be insured through our employers now, when our first child is born in a few months, it will be cheaper for us to enroll as a family of three than for one of us to be individually insured. I believe that is valid as a "life event". So it might be worth looking into whether either your or your husband's policy has a family rate. It sucks to have to rethink it all in a few months, but hopefully at that point you'll have some better options...
posted by Kriesa at 3:05 PM on April 5, 2014 [1 favorite]
posted by Kriesa at 3:05 PM on April 5, 2014 [1 favorite]
Piggybacking on Sweetie Darling's advice, moving to Florida is by itself a "qualifying event" that will give you a 60 day window in which to sign up for an insurance policy through the state exchange.
posted by telegraph at 3:27 PM on April 5, 2014
posted by telegraph at 3:27 PM on April 5, 2014
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One fever episode and a trip to the emergency room can make $5000 seem like small potatoes.
I'd look at first getting insurance in the next couple of days if there is some sort of gate w/ work insurance that will close.
I'd also look to see what your options are when your insurance goes away. Often insurance plans are limited to open enrollment times OR life event changes, you might want to understand what those conditions are - esp for your husbands insurance.
Congrats on the new baby!
posted by bottlebrushtree at 12:19 PM on April 5, 2014