What's the best type of health insurance for a pregnant woman?

Is it PPO, HMO, etc...

Every plan is different, depending on deductibles, premiums, etc.

If you are not currently insured, you will have trouble getting insurance at all if you are already pregnant without insurance. Insurance companies do not usually insure people with "pre-existing" conditions.

Personally, I think the more choice any insured person has, the better.

While an HMO may be less expensive premium-wise, it will require your Primary Care Physician (PCP) to coordinate ALL care for you. Anyone you see outside of the PCP requires a referral from them. Plus the HMO tends to be involved in a LOT of the decisions involving your health care. On the other hand, your out-of-pocket costs with an HMO are probably going to be lower than a PPO.

On the other hand, a PPO just means that when you choose your provider or doctor from the insurer's network, you will receive more favorable benefits (lower or possibly no co-pay). You are free to see anyone you choose; anyone outside the network will cost you more than anyone inside.

If you already have a physician, check to see if they are in either the HMO or PPO network. If they are in one but not the other, that may help make the decision for you.

Without knowing more about you and your needs it is really hard to say.

A lot of people have said you should use an HMO but that may not be the best option for you.

While you don't pay much out of pocket, your premiums will be much higher and you will be locked into specific doctors for all of your health needs.

If your baby were born with a specific medical condition you could not just decide to see the top specialist in your area...you would have to go through the HMO first and then you could only see that specialist if they accepted your HMO plan.

If your financial situation is tight you may be willing to take that risk. If it's not, then you may be happier with a PPO.

Also- the premiums for HMO's are much higher than they are for a high deductible PPO. For example, my wife looked at an HMO that was about $170/month. Instead we decided to put her on a PPO with a $2400 deductible and $3200 maximum out of pocket.

Let's look at the difference:

The HMO would have cost $2000 a year in premiums. The PPO cost $63/mo or $756 with a maximum out of pocket of $3200/yr (the most we would ever have to pay in addition to the premiums).

The PPO would cost us a maximum of $3956. The HMO would cost a maximum of $2000 plus whatever office visits cost.

In addition, you can set up a Health Savings Account if you have a high deductible PPO. That means that you can put up to the amount of the deductible into a savings account you can use for health expenses. The money you put in is tax deductible. If your tax rate is 15% that means you can save $360. If you rate is more like 30% you can save over $700.

For us, when we added the extra $700 in tax savings it was worth the extra potential $2000 in out of pockets costs to have the best possible medical care and freedom to see who we wanted, when we wanted.

With the PPO and Health Savings Account it really only cost us an extra $1300, and that was only if we hit the maximum out of pocket (which we'd only be likely to do the year she was pregrant). In other years it's a lot less expensive and offers much better service than the HMO.

You may be in the same position or you may not, but without knowing that, it is impossible to tell you that an HMO or PPO is best for you.

Hope this helps.

i had my 2nd child in kaiser (HMO) and only paid $10 and that's it.

Both PPO and HMO cn be efficent... it really depends on what your co-pays are.... Most people find HMO to be the best because it cost less and there are always multiple doctors in all areas covered under a given provider network.... If your job/compny offers insurance I would suggest that you talk to your HR dept. and they can probably suggest which is better for your personal needs...

But I would suggest HMO because it will cost you less and leave more room for saving for the baby. Unless you have a favorite doc whom isnt covered by your HMO... Then go with PPO...

Any insurance is better than none. HMO would be best since it will cover everything. PPO gives you more choices but will cost more to purchase.

blue cross blue shield ppo

HMO is the best by far. you only pay $10 for office visits and everything is covered. i only paid $800 out of $10,000 that my delivery and stay in the hospital cost. that's almost nothing. with PPO's you pay 30-40% of everything. if you're working, then get HMO coverage through your employer. it doesn't matter if you're already pregnant, they'll cover you through the group plan. if you don't work, unfortunately no one will cover you. you can go to a free hospital and they'll take care of you.

if your poor medicade

HMO, Providing you became pregnant while in the plan.
Otherwise, you will have to go on Medicaid.
Or Call Blue Shield (doctor) Blue Cross ( hospital) and pay for an insurance plan. It will cost you money to carry a private plan.

HMO like Kaiser or Healthnet..you pay almost nothing

try medicaid or medicare, boht of them cover 90-100%. I just received Medicaid. I also have an insurance for everything, the phonenumber is 800-730-7315 if you ask for Barbara, she will help you out. You can also call 411 and ask for Health department in your area. There they can explain everything you might be eligeble for and what they can do for you.
Good Luck
P.S. No, it's not me.

It depends on each different plan,and what your employer offers. But I personally would not go with Blue cross and blue shield. They will not cover any bills related to the pregnancy because you have to purchase "Maternity" coverage and since you didnt have it before pregnancy then you won't have any coverage except what's normally offered.

medical case it's free

ok People lets set the record strait. HMO's are for money pinching scrogges. More people have died having HMO's ofr insurance then PPO's. All because they could not get the approval for treatment they needed. Because a HMO would not approvel it. Where as a PPO insurance carrier could have made all the difference in treatment and care.

Heres a link and some text pull from that site. On womans case about HMO's:

from this web link:
http://www.makingakilling.org/chapter1.html
Chapter 5

Getting Away With Murder
Why You Can't Sue Your HMO
"They let a clerk thousands of miles away make a life-threatening decision about my life and my baby's life without even seeing me and overruled five of my doctors," said Slidell, Louisiana resident Florence Corcoran. It is a story that echoes so many tragedies recounted in this book. But as with many of the other stories, there's a twist â€” a second tragedy. "They don't get held accountable. And that's what appalls me. I relive that all the time. Insurance companies don't answer to nobody."

Corcoran faced a high-risk pregnancy. Her obstetrician ordered her hospitalized, as she had been in a previous high-risk birth. Yet her managed health care company, United Healthcare, overruled her doctor and denied the hospitalization, even though it had a second opinion agreeing with the doctor's advice. Instead, Corcoran's insurer ordered home nursing for ten hours each day.

During the last month of Corcoran's pregnancy, when no nurse was on duty, the baby went into distress. Denied the monitors and care she would have had in the hospital, Florence Corcoran's baby died.

Mrs. Corcoran filed a wrongful death action in Louisiana state court, alleging medical malpractice. But because of a legal loophole that exempts health insurance companies from such lawsuits in instances where the plaintiff receives insurance through her employer, as Corcoran did, her managed care insurer could not be held liable!

Florence Corcoran
The case was dismissed, but not for lack of merit. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeal Judge Carolyn Dineen King wrote that "the basic facts are undisputed," but "the result ERISA [the federal Employee Retirement Income Security Act] compels us to reach means that the Corcorans have no remedy, state, or federal, for what may have been a serious mistake." She continued, saying ERISA "eliminates an important check on the thousands of medical decisions routinely made. With liability rules generally inapplicable, there is theoretically less deterrence of substandard medical decision making."1

"If I go out on the street and murder a person, I am thrown in jail for murder and held accountable," said Corcoran. "What's the difference between me and this clerk thousands of miles away making a life decision which took the life of my baby and she gets off scott-free and keeps her job?"

This is the dirty little secret that lets HMOs walk away from responsibility for denying or interfering with medically appropriate treatment. Corporate health providers that administer employer-paid health benefits are above the law. How big is this loophole that Florence Corcoran and her baby fell through? Fully 125 million Americans with employer-paid health coverage in the private sector are unable to sue their HMOs or insurers for damages â€” no matter how egregious the HMO conduct or serious the consequences of the treatment denial. HMOs can operate with virtual impunity.

a Great PPO is:

Blue Cross Blue shield

In the thick of it all there are not such things as cost cutting in insurace. the lower you pay the less quailty health care you get or get stuck with charges you didn't expect. See HMO's also you have to have referrals to go to specialists. PPO's you can just walk into a specialist with out a referal.

i myself and my whole family 97 people including cusons and all. we all have kaiser perminite many of the females have been married and pregent kaiser always was always by there side.

Probably an HMO. Usually they are a little more difficult initially because you have to get a lot of referrals and things, but in the long run it's worth it because you pay a lot less money. With that being said your initial out of pocket costs in premiums are also higher. If you know you are going to need to go to the doctor a lot and everything it's worth it though.

PPO I ALMOST LOST MY BABY AND I HAD TO STAY IN THE HOSPITAL HALF MY PREGNANCY AND WELL I DONT KNOW IF IT WAS BECASUE MY COMPANY WAS SELF INSURED BUT I ONLY HAD TO PAY 300. THIS WAS W/BCBS PPO

i would say HMO its the best i would say.

r u pregnent or something (just wondering) having a good husband

if you are already pregnant you'll fall into the pre existing condition catagory, so a new policy wouldn't cover any pregnancy expense. in that case you'll need to get into a state sponsored program. blue cross blue sheild has policies that cover pregnancy, labor, and delivery. once the baby is born you will need a separate policy to cover it. i wouldn't go with an hmo. they think they can dictate what treatment the dr. should order.

Chances are, if you are already pregnant, no health insurance will cover you as a new patient. You may need to get a state-funded coverage, which is pretty good in most places.

THE LAST CENTURY [20TH ]SOME PARTS OF THE 3RD COUNTRIES [WORLD][TO INCLUDE THE U.S DID/DO-NOT HAVE HEALTH INSURANCE. MY OWN FAMILY DID NOT HAVE ,UNTIL 1957. IF YOU CAN AFFORD IT GET IT .SOME IS BETTER THEN NONE

You probably can`t get coverage if your pregnant.Most major medical plans have 180 to 360 day period before they will cover a pregnancy.they don`t want the exposure if things do not well for the expecting mother.Its there way of protecting the risk they assume when insuring you.

PPO
lets not think of cost as an issue let us think of the welfare of your unborn child.
an HMO will control what test and such your doctor can give you (due to cost of course)
while a PPO allows YOU to choose what is best for YOUR body and YOUR baby!!
after that it's all the matter of finding the BEST ob-gyn you possibly can.

I think HMO cuz it helps more than it costs

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