Maternity Coverage is Disappearing in the Individual Health Insurance Market

May 18, 2010 - PRLog -- Does this sound like you?   A small business owner, proud to have started your own business.  A female lawyer, a female dentist, psychologist,  physical therapist, designer or hair dresser.  You spend many years to finish your education.  You are still paying your student loan.  You finally risk capital and a ton of time to open your first office, your own practice, your first salon.  You might even hire some employees, but your barely breaking even. Your probably between 25-40, you just got married, you can’t afford a group insurance, but individual insurance is still affordable for you.

Or possibly you are a young woman working for a company that does not offer group health insurance.  So you are forced to get an individual policy.  

Then you get the bad news!   With the exception of Kaiser Permanente there is no affordable maternity coverage in the individual insurance market. As of this year the few carriers who offer maternity, such as Anthem and Blue Shield, have changed their policies and only offer maternity coverage with huge deductible plans of $ 5000 and $ 7500 respectively.  With Anthem you are not even able to switch to a maternity plan should you have a plan without maternity.  Blue Shield requires a 18 months membership before you able to switch into their high deductible maternity plans.  The reason why the Insurance carriers did this is clear.  An average delivery cost is now $11,000, with a caeserian delivery approximately $15,000, and a complication at birth for mother and/or child can cost in the $100,000 range.

But why are the most energetic and productive females being punished?   If you make under $ 36,000 you can apply for a State Subsidy program called  AIM. But a female lawyer, dentist, psychologist. physical therapist likely make substantially more than this. They will only have access to maternity insurance with a $5000 to $7500 deductible.

I can't believe that our system should discriminate in this way.  if I don’t make money the state is paying me to deliver my child, but if I am a small business owner or a wife of a small business owner, who actually would help to create new jobs, I am getting punished to build my family.

Surely the Insurance Industry can come up with a maternity plan that will provide a reasonable deductible for the delivery of a baby to those whose only option is individual coverage.

Is any one else outraged?

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Barbara Schmalz the owner of Solid Health Insurance Service and the "go-to" person to go to for all your insurance needs including health, life and home and insurance. Her consultative approach will help to tailor each client a solid insurance package. She has a tremendous number of health insurance providers to choose from when helping you decide on who you will use for the best policy at the best price to deal with your specific situation. http://www.solidhealthinsurance.com