OK, ladies. Let’s talk about medical bills. Since you’re all moms, you’ve already seen the medical bill that comes after a stay in the hospital due to childbirth. Even under the best of circumstances, having a baby is not an inexpensive thing to do. Luckily, most of us have insurance. For most, our insurance plans write off the majority of the billed expenses related to our pregnancy, labor, and childbirth experience.
But imagine if you can, how it’d feel to have received that bill and not have insurance. And to be staring down what amounts to crippling debt on top of having a newborn.
Now you can understand why medical insurance in surrogacy is so important. Not only is surrogacy a major financial undertaking for the intended parents, but the idea of unchecked medical costs could also be downright terrifying. This is why, for the protection of both our surrogates and our intended parents, we require every match that we facilitate carry insurance.
While most people in the US do have health insurance, surrogacy is a tricky thing. Many insurance plans will have exclusions for surrogacy pregnancy. This is particularly true for women serving in or covered by a spouse who serves, in the armed forces.
If a surrogate does not have a personal insurance plan that covers surrogacy, an intended parent is required to purchase and carry a medical insurance plan that will cover your related medical expenses during the course of your pregnancy.
Perhaps one of the best ways to get affordable health care coverage is with the Affordable Care Act (ACA). This plan is open to anyone and does cover surrogate pregnancies (in most states), but you can only be enrolled in the plan over one period of six weeks every year. This period is known as open enrollment.
For the 2019 calendar year, open enrollment begins on November 1, 2018, and extends to December 15, 2018.
If you’re planning a surrogacy for 2019, and you don’t have a personal insurance plan that covers surrogate pregnancies, it will be incredibly difficult for us to match you with intended parents if you are not covered by the ACA.
Using the ACA for your surrogacy journey versus using a surrogate specific plan can save your intended parents upwards of $20,000. These plans have very few (if any) exclusions for things like pre-existing medical conditions. It will function the same way as your personal insurance plan does, and you will not be responsible for any out of pocket premium fees.
If you have additional questions on the Affordable Care Act, or insurance in general, we’re always here and willing to walk you through it step-by-step.
For more information on open enrollment, the Affordable Care Act, and what changes are expected in 2019, check out this article, posted by verywellhealth.com