Best Health Insurance Options For Pregnant Women 2024 (2024)

Kaiser Permanente, Blue Cross Blue Shield and UnitedHealthcare are the best health insurance companies for pregnant women.

Health insurance covers most pregnancy-related doctor visits, as well as prenatal tests, ultrasounds, delivery, postpartum care and newborn care. Companies vary in many ways, though, including premiums, plan offerings, out-of-pocket costs and provider network.

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Discover Pregnancy Coverage Options From Our Health Insurance Partners

• The Best Health Insurance Companies For Pregnant Women
• Summary: Best Health Insurance Companies For Pregnant Women
• Health Insurance Options for Pregnant Women
• Can You Get Health Insurance While Pregnant?
• What Does Health Insurance Cover for Pregnant Women?
• How To Find Health Insurance During Pregnancy
• What Is the Cost of Pregnancy Insurance?
• Methodology
• Health Insurance for Pregnant Women Frequently Asked Questions

• Kaiser Permanente – Best Overall For Pregnant Women
• Blue Cross Blue Shield – Best Provider Network For Pregnant Women
• UnitedHealthcare – Best for Low Out-of-Pocket Costs For Pregnant Women

Company	Company - Logo	Forbes Advisor Rating	Forbes Advisor Rating - Image	Provider network	Average monthly silver plan cost for a 30-year-old	view_more	Learn more CTA below text	LEARN MORE
Kaiser Permanente		5.0		More than 23,900 physicians in 39 hospitals and 622 medical facilities.	$423	Get Quotes	On Healthcare.com's Website
Blue Cross Blue Shield		5.0		Over 1.7 million healthcare providers	$543	Get Quotes	On Healthcare.com's Website
UnitedHealthcare		4.5		1.5 million providers and 7,000 hospitals and facilities.	$489	Get Quotes	On Healthcare.com's Website

Average costs can vary significantly depending on your state and age. The averages don’t take into account subsidies that can reduce cost based on household income.

Two common ways to get health insurance when you’re pregnant are through your employer or from the Affordable Care Act health insurance marketplace at HealthCare.gov, sometimes called Obamacare. There may be other options if you’re pregnant and can’t afford health insurance through one of those sources.

Option 1: Medicaid/CHIP

Many low-income pregnant women qualify for Medicaid or CHIP, which are funded by states and the federal government. All state Medicaid programs can provide coverage during pregnancy with no cost-sharing. You can take a short quiz on HealthCare.gov to see if you qualify for Medicaid in your state.

Medicaid doesn’t have an open enrollment period, so you can get Medicaid or CHIP at any time of the year if you’re eligible.

If you enroll in health insurance while you’re already pregnant, Medicaid retroactively covers qualifying medical bills. Medicaid pays for pregnancy-related medical expenses incurred within three months prior to enrolling in a plan. But you must have been eligible for Medicaid during that time to have the services covered.

Option 2: Non-Health Insurance Options

You might also consider pregnancy care through local organizations. For example, Planned Parenthood and public health centers like the Hill-Burton Program provide free or discounted medical care to eligible pregnant women.

Community health centers, which often offer services in at-risk areas, are also an option for pregnant women who don’t have health insurance.

You can purchase health insurance at any point during pregnancy as long as you’re eligible to buy coverage at that time. Women can’t be denied health insurance or charged more for coverage due to pregnancy.

You can typically only buy health insurance coverage during an open enrollment period. For Affordable Care Act (ACA) plans, open enrollment is every year from November 1 to January 15 in most states. Employers set their own open enrollment periods.

A pregnancy doesn’t automatically start a special enrollment period in most states, so you want to be sure you have already purchased health insurance before you become pregnant. You’ll be eligible for a special enrollment period once the child is born, but by then it will be too late to cover childbirth bills.

There are three ways for pregnant women to get health insurance during an open enrollment period:

• Enroll in an ACA plan through the health insurance marketplace.
• Get a health plan through your employer.
• Buy individual health insurance directly from a health insurance company.

There is a way to get health insurance without an open enrollment period, but many Americans don’t qualify. Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) let you sign up for coverage whenever you’re eligible. You’re eligible based on your household income, and that varies by state.

All medical insurance plans purchased on the health insurance marketplace at HealthCare.gov provide “essential benefits” for pregnancy, delivery and postpartum care, including newborn care. Below are some of the pregnancy-related services that health insurance covers.

Pregnancy Costs Covered

• Routine doctor visits.
• Ultrasounds.
• Prenatal vitamins, including folic acid.
• Lab testing.
• Blood work.
• Screenings for pregnancy-related conditions.
• Smoking cessation programs.

Delivery Costs Covered

• vagin*l or cesarean birth.
• Hospitalization.
• Epidurals and other forms of pain management.
• Medication for labor induction.

Postpartum Costs Covered

• Newborn care, including early screenings and vaccines.
• Breastfeeding equipment and support.
• Lactation consulting.
• Birth control.

Pregnancy and childbirth can be incredibly expensive, so having health insurance is vital. Here’s what we recommend you pay attention to as you compare options.

• Figure out your health insurance eligibility. This includes options from your employer and your spouse’s employer. See if you can join an employer’s group health insurance plan, which is often more affordable than the ACA marketplace.
• Look into the ACA marketplace. The ACA marketplace offers plans in four ACA metal tiers: Bronze, Silver, Gold and Platinum health plans. Gold and Platinum plans have the most expensive premiums but the lowest out-of-pocket costs. These might be better plans if you’re pregnant or planning on it for the coming year. Bronze and Silver plans have lower premiums but can be pricey when you need health care, which makes them potentially more expensive for pregnant women in the long run. A benefit of the ACA marketplace is that the health plans are eligible for advanced premium tax credits, which are based on your household income and family size.
• See if you qualify for Medicaid. When you look for a plan on the ACA marketplace, the website will also let you know if you’re eligible for Medicaid based on your household income. If you’re eligible for Medicaid, that’s a low-cost, comprehensive health insurance option.
• Make sure your provider takes the health plan. No matter which health plan you choose, review the provider networks to make sure your OB-GYN and other providers are in the plan’s provider network. Check if your preferred hospital or birth center is also an in-network facility. The best way to check whether a provider is in-network is to contact the doctor office or facility and make sure the specific plan is considered in-network. Don’t rely on an insurance company’s provider list on its website. Those lists may be wrong or have outdated information.
• Look for perks. Health insurance plans typically have many programs for pregnant women. Find more about offerings to see if there are classes, discounts and programs that interest you.

The cost of health insurance with pregnancy coverage costs $453 monthly on average for a 30-year-old with an ACA health plan. The exact amount depends on your age, where you live, the company, the type of plan and the metal tier.

ACA plans must cover pregnancies and maternity care. You don’t pay more for having pregnancy coverage since it’s already included.

Cost of Pregnancy Insurance by Age

Average costs for unsubsidized ACA health plans.

HMOS: Cost of Health Insurance for Pregnancy by Company and Age

Average costs for unsubsidized ACA health plans.

We analyzed 84 data points about coverage and quality for seven large health insurance companies to determine the best health insurance companies for pregnant women. Our ratings are based on:

• Complaints made to state insurance departments (30% of score): We used complaint data from the National Association of Insurance Commissioners.
• Plan ratings from the National Committee for Quality Assurance (30% of score): The National Committee for Quality Assurance is an independent, nonprofit organization that accredits health plans and produces ratings based on specific metrics, including patient experience, prevention, treatment, overall rating of the health plan and rating of care.
• Average silver plan deductible (20% of score): The deductible is how much you have to pay for healthcare in a year before the health plan begins picking up a portion of the costs. Companies with health plans that had low deductibles got more points. Source: HealthCare.gov.
• Breadth of health plans (10% of score): Health insurance companies may offer up to four types of plan benefit designs (PPO, HMO, EPO and POS). Companies that offered more types of plans got more points. Source: HealthCare.gov.
• Metal tier offerings (10% of score): The ACA marketplace has four metal tier levels. We gave points to companies that offered more tier plan options. Source: HealthCare.gov.

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