Health insurance after birth?

I have individual health insurance through my work (blue cross blue shield of NC). Do I need to get a plan for my baby before he is born or will my insurance cover him for a certain period of time? It is really expensive to insure him through my work so I am looking at getting a plan for my husband and the baby (his insurance was recently cancelled), but we are tight financially so are weighing our options.

btw: I am 31 weeks along and he has a singe artery umbilical cord

Talk to your insurance provider to get specifics, I think each one varies. I know that when our twins were born they were covered under my policy for 30 days. We had to get the insurance for them aftewards. Depending on how tight you are financially look into whatever the state medicaid program is for kids in your state. That might be an option. It all depends on your income.

Be sure to weigh out if getting private insurance for your husband and the baby is a better financial option than simply insuring the baby through your policy. Be sure to check what is covered and what isn't, co-pays etc. Buying private insurance can be REALLY expensive, particularly if you want decent coverage. And, to be honest....you want the best possible coverage you can get for your kid.

Yes you will have to insure him for after he is born. They wont cover him for a certain period or anything. After my son was born i was gettin bills from the hosp for his medical stuff.. I luckily had medicaid. I had to call the dept of job and family services and once they had his medical number then i called the hosp and dr and gave it to them and they charged his insurance

Edit: i know if you to the job and family services in your county after he is born they will give him insurance regardless of what your income level is.

your baby will be covered under your insurance for 1-3 months depending on the type of plan you have so you should call. after that you can get their seperate insurance to cover vaccines and general health care. In CA they have the Healthy Families program that offers insurance based on your income..hopefully whatever state your in has something similar.

I have blue cross blue shield of IL and I just called them yesterday with the same question. They told me that you have 30 (or 31 can't remember) days from the baby's birth to add the baby to your plan at work. So as long as you do that, you should be fine. But it probably depends on your exact insurance plan (plan A, plan B, etc).

Try using http://InsureMeToday.info/Health to compare insurance rates for all the largest health care providers.

You can get medical assistance for the baby once he/she is born.

I'm not sure about your husband, though.