For most people, finding out your girlfriend is pregnant, especially unplanned, might bring up feelings of fear and worry. It becomes worse if she has no insurance. Before panicking, familiarise yourself with the many resources available for you and your girlfriend. Help your girlfriend relax and stay calm through this. However, you might wonder whether you can use your employer-sponsored health insurance program and include your girlfriend under your plan.
Unfortunately, “NO” is the most likely answer. Most, if not all, of these insurance plans, require you to be married, so they allow you to include a partner under your coverage. Your girlfriend is not eligible and cannot be covered under your company-based insurance.
What Are Her Health Insurance Options
Despite the unfortunate fact that your insurance cannot cover your girlfriend, there are many other insurance options she can consider. She might even qualify for coverage under COBRA, Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act, or Medicaid. However, if your girlfriend is under the age of 26, she could still be covered under her parents’ health insurance plan, which means none of you have to worry. If this is not the case, there are many affordable healthcare options.
Your healthcare insurance company should be able to provide your girlfriend with free pregnancy-related healthcare and lead you to additional resources in the community to give you access to the care you need. Your biggest task will be to help her remain calm through this new journey.
Where Can I Find Free Pregnancy Healthcare?
Everyone is obligated to have access to quality healthcare regardless of whether they have insurance or not. Most insurance companies have added free pregnancy testing and ultrasounds to their coverage package. This helps lift the financial burden on pregnant women considering how expensive the pregnancy journey is.
Benefits Of Insurance Coverage
An insurance policy will help you and your girlfriend cope with your new lifestyle. Pregnancy has many responsibilities that might become a burden if you are not well prepared. However, having an insurance policy will make the journey smoother. Healthcare insurance has the following advantages:
Provides Certainty
Insurance coverage will give you a feeling of assurance that you are not going to shoulder the financial burden alone. You get to pay a small amount from your income, and you are guaranteed a certainty that will help you in the future: clinic checkups, child delivery, and postpartum care.
Risk Sharing
Insurance policy makes it a cooperative scheme. This means that the insurer will be unable to pay from their capital.
Provides Protection
Insurance coverage reduces the impact of loss that one bears in terms of difficult situations. Additional costs may be incurred during the pregnancy journey since nothing is certain and emergencies can occur.
Reduces Your Financial Burden
Pregnancy comes with a lot of financial baggage. When your girlfriend finds out she is pregnant, she must visit the clinic for tests and baby monitoring. These hospital visits might be expensive, but most are covered under healthcare insurance. This will help you not dog too deep in your pockets and allow you to use the money for other things like buying baby essentials.