Emergency Medicaid for pregnant women

[nix and lai 2]

hi! im 4 months pregnant right now and don't have any medical insurance... im seeing a ob-gyne right now and paid almost 3/4 of $2200 for the pre-natal ( coz i will be having a c-section) in $2200 hospital confinement and epidural and ultrasound and laboratory not yet included... i know how expensive it is to give birth here..

we already applied for medicaid but sad to say i was DENY... coz im a non-citizen.

can anyone share their ideas on how will i be qualified for an emergency medicaid?

thank you so much.....

[Penguin_ie 5,992]

***** Moving from K1 to Life in America *****

I also didn't have health insurance through my pregnancy here. I recommend talking to the doctor and hospital; ours gave a 33% discount for paying up front, for example. Also, c-sections are very expensive because they involve the OR and a longer hospital stay. I don't know your situation but if, for example, you are considering a c-section just because you have had one before, then you may try for a VBAC (vaginal birth after ceasarian) instead.

[az110965 252]

Another issue to add here... Your husband signed the affadavit of support for you, which means he is responsible for you should you become a public charge ie: medicaid... So, unfortunately one way of the other the costs for childbirth will ultimately be yours.

Most hospitals will allow a payment plan for medical care, and in the case of a true life emergency (impending childbirth), legally in most states you can not be denied care based upon your inability to pay. The worst case scenario is that you'd end up delivering at a "public" hospital, which is tax payer funded. You would still be billed for care after the fact but fees are on a sliding scale based upon income.

Good luck with your pregnancy.

[JohnandWendyB 21]

hi! im 4 months pregnant right now and don't have any medical insurance... im seeing a ob-gyne right now and paid almost 3/4 of $2200 for the pre-natal ( coz i will be having a c-section) in $2200 hospital confinement and epidural and ultrasound and laboratory not yet included... i know how expensive it is to give birth here..

we already applied for medicaid but sad to say i was DENY... coz im a non-citizen.

can anyone share their ideas on how will i be qualified for an emergency medicaid?

thank you so much.....

Have your tried to see if there is some community organization that does free or sliding fee scale health care? I swear one of the community health facilities (not Department of Health)said they provide health care regardless of immigration status. Also I know alot of hospitals will allow you to apply for assistance with something major like childbirth and they will give you a much reduced bill or free. I am not sure if this is available to Non-citizens or not but it doesn't hurt to check. Additionally, almost every community is served by United Way and they have a 211 service where if you dial 211 from a land-based phone you can talk to a resource specialist that should be familiar with resources in your area for various things. A tip for you, though, would be if you are given places to call and they say they don't work with non-citizens, ask if they know of any additional resources. Sometimes one resource will know of a resource someone else doesn't. Good luck and if I hear of anything I will come find this post and answer it again with new info.

P. S. I work in an office that is affiliated with the folks who process medicaid. I will try to ask one of them if there is anyway to gain assistance. I also believe medicaid is one of those means-tested benefits that the government doesn't want non-citizens on and if they are they will seek reimbursement from sponsor... I think.

Edited September 1, 2011 by JohnandWendyB

[nix and lai 2]

Have your tried to see if there is some community organization that does free or sliding fee scale health care? I swear one of the community health facilities (not Department of Health)said they provide health care regardless of immigration status. Also I know alot of hospitals will allow you to apply for assistance with something major like childbirth and they will give you a much reduced bill or free. I am not sure if this is available to Non-citizens or not but it doesn't hurt to check. Additionally, almost every community is served by United Way and they have a 211 service where if you dial 211 from a land-based phone you can talk to a resource specialist that should be familiar with resources in your area for various things. A tip for you, though, would be if you are given places to call and they say they don't work with non-citizens, ask if they know of any additional resources. Sometimes one resource will know of a resource someone else doesn't. Good luck and if I hear of anything I will come find this post and answer it again with new info.

P. S. I work in an office that is affiliated with the folks who process medicaid. I will try to ask one of them if there is anyway to gain assistance. I also believe medicaid is one of those means-tested benefits that the government doesn't want non-citizens on and if they are they will seek reimbursement from sponsor... I think.

thank you so much... i already make calls.. and they always says that non-citizen (in my case) is not applicable... or im not eligible... they always tell me to try emergency medicaid at the time of delivery...

[nix and lai 2]

Another issue to add here... Your husband signed the affadavit of support for you, which means he is responsible for you should you become a public charge ie: medicaid... So, unfortunately one way of the other the costs for childbirth will ultimately be yours.

Most hospitals will allow a payment plan for medical care, and in the case of a true life emergency (impending childbirth), legally in most states you can not be denied care based upon your inability to pay. The worst case scenario is that you'd end up delivering at a "public" hospital, which is tax payer funded. You would still be billed for care after the fact but fees are on a sliding scale based upon income.

Good luck with your pregnancy.

hi! thanks for the info... we already talk to a eligibility specialist in a hospital and offer us a cash plan... we got a little discount but has to pay $3750 upfront... (hospital stay and epidural and admission fee for a c-section) aside from the doctor's fee for the delivery... and she said that we can try for emergency medicaid when i will be delivering.. but she didn't told us how to apply for it or how's the procedure...

[nix and lai 2]

***** Moving from K1 to Life in America *****

I also didn't have health insurance through my pregnancy here. I recommend talking to the doctor and hospital; ours gave a 33% discount for paying up front, for example. Also, c-sections are very expensive because they involve the OR and a longer hospital stay. I don't know your situation but if, for example, you are considering a c-section just because you have had one before, then you may try for a VBAC (vaginal birth after ceasarian) instead.

hi! thanks for the info... but i already talk to my doctor and i told him that i would like to try the vaginal birth after ceasarian ( which is much cheaper) ... but he told me that once i already had a c-section it will always be a c-section... and the eligibility specialist in the hospital told us that we can try the emergency medicaid but she didn't told us how to apply or where to apply...

[Leatherneck 693]

In a worst case scenario, if the payment issue is not resolved prior to giving birth, you will not be turned away for medical care when you show up at the hospital. At the time of admittance or after delivery of the baby, you will be given forms to complete for the emergency medicaid. But I know you want peace of mind and resolve this before you are ready to give birth.

Edited September 2, 2011 by Leatherneck

[Penguin_ie 5,992]

This is getting away from the issue of how to pay for care, but it is absolutely NOT true that you need a c-section just because you had one ()or two) before. I myself had a VBAC in hospital, and have several friends who did the same. Check out http://www.ican-online.org/ for information and providers in your area.

You could also consider homebirth.

[nix and lai 2]

In a worst case scenario, if the payment issue is not resolved prior to giving birth, you will not be turned away for medical care when you show up at the hospital. At the time of admittance or after delivery of the baby, you will be given forms to complete for the emergency medicaid. But I know you want peace of mind and resolve this before you are ready to give birth.

hi! really?! so at the time or after the delivery... thats the time when they will give me forms for the emergency medicaid? umm... atleast now i have the idea and peace of mind... that there is a possibility that i can be qualified for emergency medicaid.. thank you!

[Casprd 167]

hi! really?! so at the time or after the delivery... thats the time when they will give me forms for the emergency medicaid? umm... atleast now i have the idea and peace of mind... that there is a possibility that i can be qualified for emergency medicaid.. thank you!

You need to check this link. The pdf shows that there are certain residency requirements you must meet to receive emergency medicaid. The pdf is from a south carolina based legal center, but the gist of it may still apply. You will have to look for info on emergency medicaid in your state or region for specific requirements.

http://www.scjustice.org/Brochures/Health/Emergency%20Medicaid%20for%20Immigrants.pdf

You can talk to the hospital finance people about setting up a payment plan also. The doctor who is saying you must always have a C-section is wrong, but you will have to find a doctor who is willing to do a VBAC. Another option would be going the home birth or a birthing center route as well and worth looking in to.

[Dan and Judy 614]

If you've got or will have your green in time, I would consider having the baby in the Philippines. It wouldn't cost any more to fly there and have the baby than to have the baby here. So you could do

two things for the price of one. From a purely financial point of view I think if you flew there by yourself and stayed for a month and then flew home with the baby, that would be cheaper than just having

the baby here. Im just thinking outside the box here. Of course there are a lot of things to consider like, if your husband would be ok with not being there when the baby was born.

[Leatherneck 693]

hi! really?! so at the time or after the delivery... thats the time when they will give me forms for the emergency medicaid? umm... atleast now i have the idea and peace of mind... that there is a possibility that i can be qualified for emergency medicaid.. thank you!

I am sorry if my post lead you to feel like the above text in bold. I can not say if you are qualified, but you will not be denied medical care based on not having medical insurance. If you have no money to pay upfront for the birth of your baby and if you are not qualified for emergency medicaid, you still have options. Someone from the hospital (once admitted, especially if the intake is through the emergency) will discuss with you the issue of payment and how you will be billed, that is when the issue of emergency medicaid will come up. Like one other poster commented, try to identify the public hospital where you are so as to keep the cost down. If you are not having complications, look into using a midwife like others have suggested. And get a second opinion about the VBAC, never take one doctors word with regards to your health issues.

Good luck OP.

[Dan and Judy 614]

If you just show up at an emergency room when it is time to deliver they will take care of you but that would be a gamble on whether or not you would get any financial aid. Also it is more expensive to go through an emergency room. They can charge like $500 just for walking in the door. Then if they decide they can't handle your situation you could get stuck paying for $1000 ambulance ride. I would also

suggest looking at the midwife option.

[DeeDee&Sam 68]

stupid question from my part. if ur married arent you supposed to be the beneficiary on you husband's inssurance? meaning 80% of the medical cost?