Maternity Insurance
What is Maternity Insurance?
Maternity Insurance is put in place to cover your surrogate during the pregnancy to cover pregnancy-related medical costs and ensure she is receiving proper care for herself and your baby. Some surrogates may have health insurance plans that cover surrogacy. If your surrogate’s insurance doesn’t cover surrogacy, IFI can assist with a surrogate maternity insurance plan. If her insurance does cover surrogacy, it’s smart to add back up maternity insurance in case it changes mid-pregnancy.
What Does It Cover?
Maternity insurance covers medical bills for your surrogate directly related to the surrogate pregnancy. This insurance covers routine prenatal care and hospital delivery charges, plus any covered complications that may arise during the pregnancy, such as pre-term labor, hypertension, gestational diabetes, and more. Surrogate disability insurance covers lost wages, childcare, and housekeeping expenses for pregnancy-related complications.
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Why Do You Need Surrogate Maternity Insurance?
Intended parents need surrogate maternity insurance when an existing insurance policy does not cover your surrogate’s pregnancy. Intended parents without surrogate maternity insurance could be responsible for hundreds of thousands of dollars in medical bills if complications occur during the surrogate’s pregnancy. Having maternity insurance in place works to ensure your surrogate isn’t billed directly for medical costs incurred during pregnancy.
When Should You Apply for Maternity Insurance?
It depends on the type of insurance you purchase. Enrollment for Affordable Care Act maternity insurance on the federal marketplace exchange is generally limited to a window between Nov. 1st and Jan. 15th each year. Some states use other enrollment periods. Even though ACA policies are often less expensive, there are complicating factors that often make other maternity insurance more attractive.
What Is the IFI Surrogacy Maternity Plan?
If your surrogate’s existing insurance excludes coverage for gestational carriers and ACA or other plans aren’t available, the IFI Surrogacy Maternity Plan offers an attractive alternative.
The IFI maternity insurance plan also includes a policy underwritten by Lloyd’s of London that intended parents can activate (with additional costs) if major complications occur during the pregnancy. Intended parents typically apply when the surrogate is medically and legally cleared, and the policy is put in place at the time pregnancy is confirmed.
Benefits of the IFI Surrogacy Plan
What is Backup Maternity Insurance?
Primary insurance plans can fail for several reasons, such as if you lose employer coverage or the plan changes at policy renewal. Backup insurance plans, sometimes called secondary insurance, protect intended parents from having to pay significant medical expenses. Surrogacy agencies often require backup plans, and intended parents order them once the surrogate is medically and legally cleared.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does IFI check the gestational carrier’s insurance to see if it covers surrogacy-related medical costs?
Yes, we offer various options that include a thorough review of your surrogate’s existing health insurance. We also review the coordination of benefits for a separate fee. This is especially important to confirm if insurance obtained through the Affordable Care Act (ACA) fits with the existing plan.
Do we need to select an OBGYN doctor and delivery hospital before requesting an estimated cost for maternity insurance?
Yes, our team that estimates costs needs the provider’s contact information to accurately calculate the expenses for a routine and healthy pregnancy and delivery.
What is special enrollment?
Special enrollment refers to a time outside the annual open enrollment period when people who qualify can sign up for health insurance. Specific life events that qualify someone for special enrollment include losing existing health care coverage, moving, getting married, having a baby, or adopting a child. Typically, people have 60 days following the qualifying event to enroll in another plan.
Do we have to do anything to renew our ACA policy for the upcoming year?
Your current policy may not be available for the new year, or it may no longer be “surrogate-friendly.” IFI can check the new version of the policy if you request it using our ACA Renewal online form.
The renewal evaluation service provides the following:
- Check the new version for liens & exclusions
- Check that the previous (or new) medical providers will remain in-network
- Advise on changes to the premium, deductible, coinsurance, and out-of-pocket maximum
- Provide a written review of the new policy
What if we plan to sign up for an ACA policy, but the enrollment period hasn’t started?
Most in this circumstance choose to enroll in the IFI Surrogacy Maternity Plan to "Bridge the Gap" to ACA. Since there are no enrollment dates, this flexible plan can begin covering their surrogate's pregnancy any time of the year. If a more favorable ACA policy exists at open enrolment, they can switch to it with IFI's assistance, and it will include medical billing management to ensure a smooth transition of medical bills and claims for their surrogate. For more information on ACA, click here.
Products and services may be subject to change. Not all products available in all states. Underwriting may apply. Please connect with us for details on each policy and service offering.