Self Employed Insurance Question

Both my husband and i are self-employed. I currently have Humana one with a maternity rider. Very expensive but I am glad I have it because I am 40 so they automatically put me in the high risk category.

I looked into Golden Rule which is the insurance that my husband has and I think they do the maternity riders.

Sometimes you can negotiate with doc. and hospital up front for discounts when paying on your own.

Don't know where you are located but if it is in the Austin area, you might give mike and teresa tangorra a call. I have worked with them before and found them very helpful and they explained things well.

Tangorrainsurance.com i think that is right.

Good luck!

M.

Hi J.,

My husband and I own a small business with a few employees. We currently have health insurance thru' Blue Cross Blue Shield and have been pleased with them. I gave birth to my third child last November.

My husband and I do the HSA (Health Savings Account)and our few employees do the traditional plan (BCBS allows both options under one policy). If you or your family are pretty healthy and rarely go to the doctor during the year, HSAs are the way to go since you save a whole bunch on the monthly premium. I always do a cost analysis to determine which plan is more cost effective for my family.

For 2009, the maximum annual HSA contribution for an eligible individual with self-only coverage is $3,000. For family coverage, the maximum annual HSA contribution is $5,950. These amounts are deductible on your tax return. There is a lot more info about HSAs that is valuable but is too long for me to type here.

If you would like, contact me off line and I would be glad to give you my insurance agent's name and phone #. They can advise you on different options. I am currently in the process of renewing our insurance coverage so I am looking at five different insurance companies.

Hope this helps,
K.
Dripping Springs

I think that the only company in Texas that does maternity coverage for individuals is Scott and White. I had BCBS two years ago when we (unexpectedly) found ourselves expecting. There was nothing to be done, insurance-wise, because no one will take you if you're already pregnant. And those places that say they get you discounted rates... well, there was a lot of evidence that they're not for real. When my son was born in 2002, we said that the next time, we'd go the birthing center route instead of the hospital. That turned out to be the best thing ever. The entire plan, pre-natal visits, labor, delivery, and post-natal care and visits, was $3500. I think I paid an additional $100 for my rhogam shot, since I am rh negative. Compared to going into debt for a $20,000 hospital birth, it was amazing. But if I had needed a c-section, I would have had to go to the hospital, plus they don't do epidurals... Honestly, the birth of my daughter in the birthing center was wonderful, way better than my hospital experience, and I would highly recommend the Austin Birthing Center. If you are a higher-risk mom, I would check into Scott and White to see if they still offer maternity coverage (as long as you aren't already pregnant!). Or both, actually, just so if something unexpected comes up, you'd be covered. Good luck!

United Healthcare has a maternity add on to their policies, BUT you have to have it a year before you get pregnant before they will cover anything. We're in the same boat - self-employed and have individual health insurance policies. I just had a little girl. We ended up not getting maternity coverage and paying for everything out of pocket. I had a home birth so it ended up costing less than the cost of the additional insurance. Insurance companies suck. Good luck.