Approximately 41 million people are uninsured in the United States today and this statistic is probably not a new one for you – it has been flung around quite a bit during the health care debate. Of these 41 million people, approximately 13 percent of them are pregnant women who will either have no insurance for pregnant women or be underinsured during the duration of their pregnancies and as a result will not receive proper prenatal care. If you meet the low income requirements, the government funded Medicaid and Medicare programs are the only ones that do not consider pregnancy as a pre-existing condition.

The average birth with no complications will cost, on average, $6,000 to $8,000. If a Caesarean Section needs to be performed then the average cost is somewhere in the neighborhood of $11,000. This is just the birth. It doesn’t include the prenatal care costs incurred during birth which can run nearly as much as the birth costs. If there is an issue with your baby or with your pregnancy you can be looking at even higher costs. The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability act states that pregnancy is not a pre-existing condition, however the insurers have found a loophole that rarely fails the in denying you coverage if you are already pregnant at the time you seek insurance for pregnant women.

If you are already pregnant, uninsured, and have been declined for a regular maternity care plan because of the pre-existing condition loophole then look into Medicaid/Medicare. A lot of people think they don’t qualify because they figure they make too much money, but this might not be the case. The cut off for these plans is around $30,000.

If you do find that you’re not eligible for these programs don’t stop your search for assistance. Do a little research and you may find health care discount programs that, while they may not cover costs as well as insurance for pregnant women, can certainly put a dent in what you will have to pay out of pocket. Talk to your health care providers as well – they may have some options you haven’t thought of yet!

Before you have decided that you are simply not eligible for any coverage at all you should check with the insurance companies anyway. While they may not give you full benefits with a super-low premium because you are already pregnant, quite a few of them have limited insurance for pregnant women options available at a slightly higher cost. Insurance companies won’t be found openly advertising these policies, but this shouldn’t stop you from asking them if they have them and if you can get a quote on them. You should be able to do this quickly and easily by going to their websites online.