Wednesday, May 27, 2015

I can't beleive my insurance company is paying for all of this!

This is kind of the anti-post. I have to say that I haven't had much to complain write about since I've been on the University's staff health care plan. It's really quite good coverage, which I guess highlights the huge difference in quality of life that an insurance plan can impact.

I will complain about the state of maternity leave in this country in the next post (promise). 

Here's the latest: I'm now 3 weeks post-partum. My gorgeous sleeping baby is sleeping in the baby carrier strapped to me as I type this. Throughout the pregnancy, I was part of a few groups online for fellow type 1s who are pregnant or moms. There were some crazy stories about the absurd amount of money they had to pay up front to the OB department in order to receive care.

Several women report having to pay $2,000 to $4,000 for their OB care, which doesn't necessarily include all charges, such as lab work, specialists, etc. 

One woman reports, "We pay out of pocket up to $4k I think, then 20% of the next $1k then 0% (in-network). I believe that I'll be paying whatever the standard "high risk" CS delivery is but it's pretty confusing what's included."

Another says, "I had to pay my OB before week 28. 3,200 dollars [sic]... Not including [sic] pediatrician, hospital and anesthesiologist."

So you can imagine my anticipation when I received the hospital bill for my pregnancy. Wait for it... $14. That's it. The rest was covered. And if we are being accurate, the $14 was for two guest meals for my husband while we were in the hospital. I kept asking, during my 40 appointments over the 40 weeks of pregnancy, if I was going to see a bill. I thought that each OB visit qualified as a specialist visit and cost $30 copay. This would add up to $1200, which I was prepared for. 

So you can see how this surprised me, especially after getting unexpected bills quite frequently over the years. 

Good job, PremiereCare/University of Michigan. Now, if you could please work on maternity leave. 

2 comments:

  1. Wow! It seems like your insurance company did pretty well on this, and that they didn’t add up to your stress. Anyway, did you receive any bills from the OB visit yet, or has it been covered by your insurance as well? Whichever the case is, I hope you’re doing well nowadays. Thanks for sharing this with us, Laura. All the best!


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