Idaho Maternity Plans
Idaho Maternity Supplements Currently Offered:
Note: Aflac quit selling hospital plans in Idaho in February 2012, but don't worry, we have other excellent plans
| |
Monthly Premium |
Benefit for 2 Day (48 hr) Hospital Stay |
| Hospital Cash Plan |
$52.36 |
$2,400 |
Benefit Summary is not a guarantee of payment; see agent for Outline of Coverage or your own policy for details; benefits depend on services performed and waiting periods met.
We all have friends who have told us about the big paycheck they got from Aflac after they had their baby. They even claimed that Aflac paid them much more money when they had the baby than they ever paid in premium. It sounded a little too good to be true. Your friends called it Aflac maternity insurance, or maybe Aflac maternity supplement. First, let’s be clear that “Maternity Insurance” is a bit of a misnomer. We offer hospital indemnity supplement plans that work amazingly well to help cover your maternity expenses. Because some people use them for the express purpose of covering maternity, they are often referred to as maternity insurance or maternity supplements. In reality, they are hospital supplement plans that cover most necessary hospitalizations. They also just happen to cover maternity as long as you bought the policy at least 10 months before you deliver. Unfortunately for Idaho residents planning a pregnancy, Aflac quit offering these excellent hospital plans in February of 2012. For many years Aflac was the go-to company while many other insurance companies came into the market with these kinds of maternity plans and left. However, in 2012 Aflac realized the money they were losing on them. The good news is that we have other plans from other companies to continue to provide you with this excellent benefit.
How Do the Maternity Supplement Plans Work?
The hospital supplements we offer have a 10 month waiting period for pregnancy. They do not pay anything for pregnancy if you deliver your baby and you’ve had the policy for less than 10 full months. We recommend our clients buy the policies about 6-8 weeks before they plan to get pregnant. That way you give yourself about 2-4 weeks of leeway in case the baby comes early.
These supplements pay you cash. Well, in reality they send you a check, but the point is they send you the money; it does not go to the doctor or hospital. You can of course spend the money as you please. They pay you based on the number of days you spend in the hospital. After you deliver you will receive an itemized bill from the hospital. We submit that itemized bill to the insurance company, and then they send you a check. The insurance companies selling these supplements do not care how much the hospital or doctor charge you for the maternity care; again, they are just paying based off the number of days you were in the hospital. By federal law you are allowed to stay 2 full days (48 hours) for a vaginal delivery and 4 full days (96 hours) for a cesarean delivery. We of course advise you to stay the full 2 or 4 days respectively, to receive the best benefit from your policies. By staying just one day in the hospital you will still receive benefits, just not as much.
Who Should Buy a Maternity Supplement?
Simply put, anyone not currently pregnant should buy a maternity supplement. Many self-employed people have a high maternity deductible such as $5,000 or higher, so these plans work great to help cover those out of pocket costs. Other people have great maternity insurance coverage through their company plan, so they will have little out of pocket costs. If you already have great maternity insurance through work, why not buy a maternity supplement that will pay you cash when you deliver? Then you can use all that extra money to buy baby stuff, take a vacation, or spend however you want.
Who Should Not Buy a Maternity Supplement?
If you are already pregnant these supplements will not work for you. If you don’t have any health insurance coverage at all, we suggest you speak with your local Medicaid office to see if you qualify, or negotiate with your doctor and setup a prepayment plan. The state of Idaho also has a high risk pool with plans that have a $5,000 maternity deductible; however, pre-existing condition will apply if you don't have any current coverage and you apply while you are pregnant.
Do I Need a Maternity Supplement and Health Insurance?
You do not have to have health insurance to have a maternity supplement. However, you are pretty crazy not to have health insurance if you are planning on having a baby. If you are looking for an individual health insurance plan you must also buy that plan before you get pregnant; otherwise they will consider you high risk. Even expectant fathers are considered high risk if they apply alone. The reason is that on many occasions babies are born with congenital abnormalities that can cost thousands of dollars to correct, or they have to spend time in the NICU which can also cost thousands of dollars. By Idaho law, the insurance companies have to allow newborn babies to be added to the parent’s policy, which is why even expectant fathers are considered high risk because of the inherent liability. We work with all the major health insurance companies in the state, and we would be happy to help you find the right one for maternity. Click here to see what health plans we recommend for families planning on having a baby.
How Can You Go Wrong With These?
It is pretty hard to when you look at the cost/benefit analysis. Just remember insurance is a contract. Just like a contract you may sign with anyone, you are agreeing to do certain things and the insurance company agrees to do certain things in return. So here are the things you want to make sure you do:
- Complete an honest application
- Pay your premiums on time (they have automatic draft to make this part easy)
- Fulfill the 10 month waiting period for pregnancy
- Deliver in a U.S. hospital and stay at least 24 hours (remember these are hospital plans)
- Do not enroll in welfare assistance such as Medicaid or the benefits may be sent to Medicaid
- Send in the itemized bill
Follow those simple rules and the insurance company is obligated to fulfill their end of the contract and pay you the specified benefits.
How Do I Apply?
We can get you the applications you need to get signed up. All of them use brokers/agents like me to sell these policies for them. We are their sales staff; if you call them and try and go direct, they will just refer you to an agent like me. Keep in mind that insurance premiums are fixed by state law, so you pay the same no matter where you buy the policy; I get compensated by the insurance companies through commissions on the policies I write, so you don’t have to worry about paying me (although I will accept fresh baked cookies from happy customers; if for some odd reason you are not happy, I can’t promise I will trust your baking).
How Do I Cancel?
These policies are month to month. You are not locking in to any long term contract when you sign up. You can cancel any time effective the next month; they do not prorate premium on a daily basis like some car/home insurance policies. To cancel, simply call the respective company and request to be put on quarterly billing statements. Then when the bills come in the mail you simply do not pay them. There won't be any mark against you for doing that. Also, if something unexpected happens and you do need the hospital coverage, then you can simply pay the premium to keep the policies active if you are still within the grace period.
Have more questions or ready to start an application? Call us at 208-523-3924 or email me at Ryan@idahoinsuranceplans.com | 
