How to Change Insurance During Pregnancy

There are plenty of things new parents worry about during pregnancy, but health insurance should not be one of them. Obtaining and maintaining health insurance helps to offset the high cost of healthcare. For your own peace of mind, contact your insurance carrier before seeing your doctor for your initial pregnancy checkup. Verify your coverage for the hospital and the physicians you plan on using.

Instructions

Switching Insurance Policies

• 1

  Verify when the new insurance plan is slated to be in effect. You should receive the exact date from which your existing insurance plan no longer covers your healthcare.

• 2

  Inform your current physician that your insurance plan will be changing. Discuss this information with your physician's billing office. All bills prior to the new insurance date must be submitted to your original insurance carrier. All bills that occur from healthcare appointments after your new insurance takes effect must be submitted to your new insurance carrier.

• 3

  Ask your current healthcare provider if they are covered under your new insurance policy. If so, you will only need to provide your physician with your new health insurance card. Remember to change insurance information at the hospital if you have already been pre-certified for your stay in the hospital.

• 4

  Verify with your new insurance carrier that your current physician is a covered in network provider during your pregnancy. Even if the physician does take your new insurance, he or she may be considered out of network. If the physician is out of network, you will be required to pay a higher percentage of the healthcare bills.

• 5

  Look for a new physician if your current doctor is not covered under your new policy. Show your current physician the physicians listed on your new insurance policy and ask for a recommendation. Call the nursing desk at the hospital where you plan to have your baby. Explain your situation and ask for a physician recommendation.

• 6

  Confirm that you have full coverage during the transition between insurance carriers. This is important if you are changing insurance carriers due to a change in jobs. Sometimes the new insurance will take up to 90 days to be in full effect for your entire family. Ask for that waiting period to be waived through your employers human resources department and/or your new insurance carrier. Verify that this waiting time was waived prior to when your new insurance takes effect.

• 7

  Write down the name, date and questions asked of the insurance carriers for your records. This will ensure that you have a full record of your discussions with the insurance company in case of a later billing problem.

• 8

  Do not forget to ask if your hospital is considered to be in network. Also determine if all potential physicians that may see you during your stay are covered in network. This is known as the "ologist" clause. You cannot preselect many types of "ologist" physicians, such as anesthesiologists or neurologists. You typically get whoever is on call that day. You should not be charged a higher rate if you are unable to choose all members of the hospital staff that are assisting you in your pregnancy.

• 9

  Write down the insurance change over date. Each bill you receive from either insurance carrier will have a date of service. If a bill is rejected by one of the insurance carriers, check the service date of the healthcare visit. Regardless of when the bill is submitted, all visits that occur before the changeover date must be submitted to the initial carrier or they will be rejected by the new insurance carrier.

• 10

  Re-submit rejected bills by contacting your doctor's office to verify that the bill was sent to the appropriate insurance carrier.