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Yes, you can get health insurance for babies because having a child is a qualifying life event that prompts a special enrollment period, which enables you to enroll in or change your health insurance plan.

Risks of Not Having Newborn Insurance

According to Medibank, health care services for newborns are among the costly medical expenses. If you go without getting baby during the window that you are allowed, you could end up with costly medical bills that are, at times challenging to pay down.

Buying health insurance for babies will help you protect both your newborn and your child.

Does My Individual or Family Coverage Automatically Cover My New Baby?

To get babies’ health insurance, you must enroll in or change your health insurance plan.

The answer is to this query is both yes and no. After giving birth, the baby is covered for the first 30 days of their life as an extension of the mother under her policy and deductible.

Starting on day 31, this extension of the plan ends. Maternity care (both pre and postnatal) and some healthcare services for kids are vital benefits that are covered by all marketplace coverages. Health insurance for newborns is not included as an essential benefit. To get health insurance for newborns, you must enroll in or change your health insurance plan.

Having a baby is a qualifying life event that triggers a special enrollment period that permits you to enroll or change your health insurance coverage outside of the annual open enrollment period.

After your qualifying life event – in this case, delivering – you have a 60-day window to get health insurance for children. During this time, you can either enroll in or change your health insurance coverage to include coverage for your baby.

What to Do If I Do Not Have Health Insurance?

If you do not have health insurance, you will have to pay all costs out-of-pocket.

According to Parents.com, birth can cost between $2,000-$4,500 dollars based on the method of delivery without complications. You would not only have to pay for prenatal, delivery, as well as postnatal care out-of-pocket but for all care that your baby receives after birth.

You do nevertheless have choices before giving birth if you are having a difficult time affording health insurance.

Even if you do not think you qualify based on income for programs such as Medicaid, you should still apply since you may be more likely to receive coverage in case you are pregnant. This is a great way to get healthcare insurance for yourself and health insurance for children. With Medicaid, you do not have to wait until the annual open enrollment period to apply and enroll; you can enroll in health insurance plan at any time of the year if you qualify.

Planned Parenthood and CHIP as health insurance options

Additionally, there are facilities – like Planned Parenthood – that sometimes offer prenatal care at lower-rates depending on your income.

If you do not have a coverage and are not planning on getting one, you can look into applying for CHIP.

If you do not have a plan and are not planning on getting health coverage, you can look into applying for CHIP. The Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) is a way to get health insurance for families who have a hard time affording health insurance for themselves or health insurance for babies or older children.

 While what CHIP covers differ state to state, according to their official website (?) CHIP offers coverage for the following services in all states:

• Prescriptions
• Laboratory and X-ray services
• Inpatient and outpatient care
• Immunizations
• Emergency services
• Doctor visits
• Dental and vision care (which are usually covered through a parent’s health insurance)
• Check-ups

Bear in mind that in some states, CHIP may offer more covered benefits for your child.

The qualification guidelines for CHIP differ from state to state, but like Medicaid, you can enroll.

Where Should I Start Shopping for Health Insurance for Newborns?

It is a good idea to begin looking into health insurance for your baby before you give birth. You can begin looking for health insurance that will meet your coverage requirements on Health Insurance Plans Org! Enter your zip code where prompted on this page to begin comparing premiums for over 10,000 plans from over 180 companies now!

References and Resources

• Children’s Health Insurance Program
• Enhancing Women’s Health Through Maternal Care