Newborn baby needs health insurance, I need answers

[Sev_]

Helpful and productive comments only please.

My girlfriend and I just had our newborn baby 6 days ago and we are lucky enough to have him on state aid for the first month, now I'm hustling to look for health insurance for him before that time frame is up.

I'm in complete disarray and I don't know what I can do. I've been having some postpartum depression symptoms since his birth (yes, fathers get it too) and with this added weight it is killing me, not to mention our debt that we have.

I live in Barstow, California, San Bernardino county. My job doesn't offer health insurance and between my girlfriend and my income, we make $3,800+ a month, we do not qualify for any type of state aid.

Some of your might be thinking, "that's plenty to purchase health insurance for your whole family" but because of our debt to income ratio, we only have up to $100 at the end of the month to spend towards a health care plan. We are working with a debt management company to help us with our debt and they've been helpful thus far.

My focus now is on doing what's good for my son, I've screwed up my life but I don't want that for him.

I've looked into IEHP and Healthy Families but as I said before, I make to much. If there are any other health care insurance providers out there, I'd really appreciate the names, links and if you or someone you know has or has used them.

I'm terribly sorry for the sob story, but I only have a few more weeks before my son doesn't have any type of health coverage.

Please PM me if you need any more information or if you have any helpful advice.

[Buddy Lee]

My suggestion is to see if you can cut out all non essential expenditures to put towards a health insurance plan.

No cable TV.
No internet.
No movies.
No HeroScape.
Etc.

It is simply a matter of setting priorities. What is more important your child or your fun? If you make the proper decision the rest will come to you.

Another suggestion is see if there are any church or community programs that might help.

Hope this helps.

Buddy Lee

[Onacara]

You are probably going to need a second job that will either give you insurance or enough money to pay for insurance.

[SpiderCoach]

Check with your church....many faiths offer group coverage rates to their members. My wife and I were in a similar situation when we were younger, but we were able to get an affordable health care plan for our new son through her church.

[Agent Minivann]

CHIP should be available even with the higher income.

You might try looking at a High Deductible Health Plan with a Health Savings Account. You'd still be paying for pretty much everything out of pocket, but you'd be covered for really big stuff. As far as buying your own insurance that is the cheapest you will find.

Apart from that it's pay out of pocket or get a 2nd/different job. As harsh as Buddy Lee's suggestions sound, that may be a big way to pay for insurance. I noticed that our power bill went down noticeably when we dropped cable.

[Sev_]

Originally Posted by Agent Minivann

CHIP should be available even with the higher income.

You might try looking at a High Deductible Health Plan with a Health Savings Account. You'd still be paying for pretty much everything out of pocket, but you'd be covered for really big stuff. As far as buying your own insurance that is the cheapest you will find.

Isn't CHIP, Healthy Families? Could you give me a link?

I want to keep doctor visit costs down as well as the ER.

[Agent Minivann]

I guess it is SCHIP. The iteration found in Utah is just called CHIP.

http://www.cms.hhs.gov/home/schip.asp

I've never looked into getting it, but I believe the max income levels are higher than for Medicaid. It only covers the kiddies.

[yagyuninja]

I was in a similar situation when our son was born and we were able to get him independent insurance through Bluecross Blueshield of Oregon. I just went to my companies insurance guy and he showed me a couple plans (he gets paid by the insurance companies) and I picked one I could afford. The most expensive one for a newborn was $75/mo. It jumped to $90/mo. after a year, though. Getting insurance for just your child can be easy if there were no complications with the birth or any preexisting issues. Know that they can turn you away for any reason though (unlike a group health plan through your employer).

Hope this was helpful, and good luck!

[Sev_]

Thank you Agent Minivan and Yagyuninja.

You're helpful answers have brightened up my day. I will look into these as soon as possible.