Aug 4 2008

Trying to Get Health Insurance When You or Your Partner Is Pregnant.

Summary: Attention men, make sure you have health insurance BEFORE your wife or partner gets pregnant otherwise you will be denied coverage for the term of the pregnancy. Women, you MUST get health insurance BEFORE you get pregnant. Pregnancy is considered a “pre-existing condition” and you will be denied coverage. Sad but true.

Through a series of events that included being forced off the job due to a repetitive injury disability, and my subsequent transition to self employment, I was without health insurance for a couple of years. It’s not that I liked to tempt fate; it’s just that money was tight and buying health insurance as an individual was phenomenally expensive.

We were going to start a family soon, so after my partner got pregnant we decided it would be best if I also got health insurance. She was insured by Blue Cross through her employer and had planned to add our baby to her policy once she was born.

She was relatively satisfied with her policy so I figured I might as well go with the same company. I called up Blue Cross and they sent me an application packet to fill out. It contained all the usual questions involving your medical history, pre-existing conditions, age and so one. However there was one question that struck me as odd; are you or your partner pregnant or are planning to get pregnant? The question sounded like a trap. It was such anomaly I knew the question must have some consequences attached to it. However, I also knew that insurance companies were notorious for combing through you application during a health crisis to try and discover any reason to deny coverage. So I answered it honestly and checked yes. Continue reading