Colorado Health Insurance

I've noticed that a large quantity of the visitors to our website, www.efsbenefits.com, are looking for maternity coverage.  It seems that most of the questions revolve around whether or not pregnancy is considered a pre-existing condition:

1.)  Is pregnancy a pre-existing condition?
2.)  Can I get maternity insurance if I am already pregnant?
3.)  Why is the father denied health insurance when he is not the one that is pregnant?

The answers to these questions depend upon the type of insurance that the person asking the question is referring to. 

With regards to GROUP or employer-sponsored health insurance in the State of Colorado, a pregnancy is not and cannot, by law, be considered a pre-existing condition.  If you are currently expecting a child, you cannot be denied coverage as a new member of an employer-sponsored health insurance plan.  Additionally, the employer-sponsored health insurance plan is required to provide coverage for your existing pregnancy.   However, if you waived the option to purchase health insurance at your place of employment when you first became eligible, the insurance carrier CAN force you to wait for an open enrollment event before you can enroll onto the health plan. 

On the other hand, the personal or individual health insurance market is subject to a different set of laws with regards to the consideration of pregnancy as a pre-existing condition.  If you are currently pregnant and you do not currently have health insurance coverage or you do not have access to employer-sponsored health insurance coverage, you will not medically qualify to purchase a new, PERSONAL health insurance plan with or without maternity coverage.  More information about this topic can be found here:  http://www.efsbenefits.com/individual-family-insurance.html

By law, the newborn infant has the right to be added to either the mother's or the father's healthplan WITHOUT medical underwriting.  Therefore, in order to protect themselves from the risk of an unhealthy newborn, individual and family health insurance carriers will not allow an EXPECTANT parent (mother or father) to purchase a new health insurance plan until after the baby is born. 

So, what are your options if you are currently expecting a child and do not have any health insurance coverage? If you are in this situation, you will find that your options are very limited.  Rather than purchasing an expensive maternity discount card, consider asking your healthcare providers if they will offer you a discount for self-pay.  You may find that you will be able to obtain discounted services simply by asking.  Other options include:

Obtaining a job with health insurance benefits - By law, all group healthplans in the State of Colorado are required to include maternity coverage, and maternity cannot be considered a pre-existing condition if you enroll onto the plan when you first become eligible.

Election of COBRA coverage - If you have just recently lost a job that had health benefits, you may be eligible to elect COBRA (large group) or State Continuation of Coverage (small group).  These benefits will be identical to the benefits you had before you lost employment, and they will include maternity coverage. 

Low Income Health Care - If your income levels fall below a certain range, you may be eligible for benefits through CHP Plus (www.cchp.org).  These benefits are made available by the State of Colorado for low income children and pregnant women.   It is also possible that you may qualify for Medicaid.

Charity - seek the help of Catholic Charities or Lutheran Social Services. They offer support for if you are pregnant with no insurance, including prenatal services at reduced cost.