According to an article in USA Today hospitals commonly charge people without insurance 75% more than people who have insurance. If you're pregnant and don't have maternity insurance, the MaternityCard service will work for you. These Questions and Answers for Moms and Dads will help you understand why MaternityCard can cut the cost of having a baby up to 60% or more. To start saving almost immediately, read this Questions and Answers carefully. |
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With MaternityCard you get top quality care. MaternityCard moms use the same doctors, same labs, same hospitals recommended by insurance companies to their maternity insurance clients. Now you can use the same PPOs and medical professional networks. Not everyone qualifies for MaternityCard. Please look at the following chart. If you qualify, read this web site carefully to see how MaternityCard will save your family money. |
Look at this chart carefully to discover if you qualify.
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Doctors and Hospitals
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Doctors, Hospitals and MaternityCard ™ Question: Should I ask my doctor and hospital if they accept MaternityCard before I enroll?
The Patient Advocacy Team talks with hundreds of doctors and hospitals every day. They're the experts. No one here does what they can do. They have experience. They know exactly what to say to your medical providers to get them to accept MaternityCard. They also know exactly how to handle any questions the doctor or hospital may ask. In other words, your Patient Advocacy Team members are professionals who love to make sure that you pay less not more. MaternityCard is a national health care company that is licensed and registered as a Provider Access Organization. MaternityCard works with and through dozens of nationwide PPOs and many regional medical organizations and facilities to provide the MaternityCard service. Attention: The best thing is to enroll first because this allows the MaternityCard experts to save you the most money. Do not call your medical providers without first calling PAT. Question: Does MaternityCard negotiate to get discount prices for me? Answer: No. MaternityCard is not insurance and not a discount card. Companies that say they can get you discount medical prices are not always giving you accurate information. Why? Because doctors and hospitals are not flea markets. They do not commonly offer discounts, or hand out coupons, or have sales on medical procedures. Hospitals do not have buy-one-get-one-free offers. They're not bargain basement sellers. They're professionals who provide important medical services. MaternityCard does not bargain with hospitals, doctors, and labs. MaternityCard is a national health care company that has contracts with dozens of nationally-recognized PPO networks. That's why MaternityCard can "reprice" for you, and lower your cost of having a baby. MaternityCard looks for every way possible to bring down your hospital bills, for example. Hospitals use complex formulas to make their bills. Each hospital bills according to their policies and procedures, and even according to laws in your state. Since hospitals charge you in so many different ways, in addition to repricing your bills MaternityCard, as part of its service, examines each of your bills closely and looks for billings errors to further reduce your cost. Read everything on this FAQ page so you have a more complete understanding of how and why MaternityCard is organized to serve and save you money. After you've read this page, complete the Question: Will MaternityCard call my doctor and hospital for me before I enroll? Answer: No. The first step is to enroll in MaternityCard. Because all of MaternityCard's Member Services and Benefits are reserved for the moms and dads who are enrolled with MaternityCard. After that, you can call MaternityCard 24 hours a day. We're here to serve you.
Question: Why does the hospital charge more for "extras"? Answer: Hospitals charge for extras because every birth is different. They can't predict what may happen to mom or baby. The extras always cost more money no matter where you go. They will bill you for every thing they do including bringing you an aspirin if it's not included in their normal rate. You will be charged for any and all extra services. Because it's like going to a restaurant, you pay one price for the meal, and more for anything extra you order. The longer you and or your baby stay in the hospital, the more you will pay no matter what the hospital quoted you beforehand. That's why MaternityCard is so important. It helps to control and lower the cost of anything that happens in the hospital whether it is planned or unplanned. Question: My hospital told me that my hospital stay would cost a certain amount. Does that mean no matter what happens the price is the same? Answer: Generally, no. This is very important. Think of it this way, the more you buy anywhere, the more you will pay.
In the Nevada case above, you see an ordinary delivery. In the Texas case you see a delivery with a few things out of the ordinary, but in the Pennsylvania case there is a delivery with a lot of complications. What are "complications"? They could be anything that require mom and baby to stay longer in this hospital. The complications aren't necessarily life threatening. They are necessary procedures that any hospital and doctor would apply in order to keep mom and baby healthy. These are real MaternityCard Repricing Statements. The hospitals all gave these moms and dads a quote for a normal delivery. Maternity hospital bills can be shocking because you are given a quote for a normal delivery and they will charge you for everything beyond normal no matter how small it is. Note how MaternityCard cut the costs on the sample bills above. Question: How can I control the cost of my hospital bills? Answer: If you don't have maternity insurance, the best way to control the cost of your hospital bill is to enroll in MaternityCard and let the experts at MaternityCard work to lower your maternity-related hospital bills for you by repricing them aggressively to get the lowest possible adjusted price for you. If you want the lowest cost over all and professional medical services used by moms with maternity insurance - use MaternityCard's network of PPOs. Remember, the PPOs that MaternityCard moms use are the same doctors, same hospitals, same labs recommended to insured clients by America's largest insurance companies. Since the hospital bill can be so unpredictable, the reason MaternityCard moms and dads are happy to pay a small monthly fee for MaternityCard is they want to control their hospital cost, whether they're in the normal range, or they are higher than expected. You should too. Why is it important to control the hospital cost? Because every delivery is different and the hospital cannot predict the future. They can only give you a quote for an ordinary birth that has no complications and requires no extra time or services. Anything out of the ordinary, they have to charge you more for because they'll have to put more things in your hospital shopping cart. Here's an example of the extra "things" you could be charged for: When you're in the hospital, since your doctor is not available 24 hours a day to stay with you, if you or your baby need a doctor immediately, a hospital doctor will be called to help you. Of course, you're charged for every instance of hospital doctor time. There's a charge for the time nurses spend with you too. Question: Compared to my doctor bills, what are the biggest expenses in having my baby? Answer: The pie chart below shows the relative Hospital, Lab, and Doctor expenses related to your baby's birth. Your doctor is the least of your worries. Why? Because your hospital costs can grow rapidly if you or your baby need special care and specialists have to be brought in as needed. For example, if you need an emergency c-section, or even in the case of a planned c-section, the hospital-related costs will rise dramatically, however, your doctor costs will stay relatively the same. If your baby is premature, for example, and needs special care of any kind, the doctor rate stays pretty much the same, but your baby's hospital stay will increase your costs. Why? Because the hospital bills you for everything they do for you and that includes every piece of equipment or medicine or additional time of the hospital doctors, nurses, or others who are employed to help keep you and your baby strong and healthy even in difficult circumstances. Question: Why do hospitals charge so much?
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Question: What if something happens when my baby is born, and the bill is huge because we had to stay in the hospital much longer than we planned? Who will pay the much larger bill than we expected? Answer: MaternityCard cannot reduce your hospital bill or other maternity-related bills to zero. Why? Because if you go into a retail store and buy a television that normally costs $600 at a 50% discount, you don't have to pay $300, but you have to pay the other $300. MaternityCard is not insurance, and it will not and does not pay your bills. On the other hand, as explained on this web site, MaternityCard can help you control your hospital costs. In normal maternity cases, for example, MaternityCard can save you thousands of dollars. You asked about who will pay a bill that is much larger than you expected? In all cases, including an unusual case of a large bill around $100,000, MaternityCard will use its network of PPOs to reprice the bill and save you up to 60% or more. MaternityCard also examines all bills, whether large or small, to see if you were overcharged or billed improperly. However, since MaternityCard is not insurance, in all cases without exception, you will be responsible to pay the amount of the hospital bill owing after it has been repriced. In the extreme example above, MaternityCard may save you $60,000, and, of course, the remaining $40,000 would be a financial burden to almost anyone. However, what financial burden would you rather be faced with: Owing the hospital $100,000 or saving $60,000 and just owing the hospital $40,000? To speak with a friendly MaternityCard Representative about enrolling now or to ask questions after reading this FAQ, complete the MaternityCard Request Form. (Click on link) Question: What happens if I miscarriage ? Answer: MaternityCard is dedicated to helping you and your family. If you miscarriage, MaternityCard immediately stops charging you for MaternityCard. In addition, you can continue to use MaternityCard for two months to help you to lower any bills connected with your miscarriage and, of course, MaternityCard will continue to closely examine all your bills and reprice them for you too. Also, if you get pregnant again anytime during the next five years after your miscarriage, you can enroll in MaternityCard again and there is no enrollment fee . |
Doctors and Hospitals Question: My OBGYN gave me pre-registration forms for the hospital to fill out. Why does MaternityCard tell me not to pre-register at the hospital? Answer: MaternityCard is not maternity insurance. Because you don't have maternity insurance if you pre-register the hospital will most likely ask you to pay up front for your entire delivery. You don't want to pay up front because MaternityCard has a lot of PPO network affiliations and your hospital could be contracted with more than one of them. After your baby is born, the hospital will send MaternityCard their super-bill, and your Patient Advocacy Team will examine it to see how best to handle it to give you the most savings. That's why the best thing to do is pay after the baby is born, after the hospital has done the work. The key is to tell your doctor which hospital you plan to use and when you're ready to deliver your baby take your MaternityCard with you to the hospital. MaternityCard's address is on the back of your MaternityCard identification card along with a unique bar code the hospital can use to verify your membership and learn the related-PPO information that satisfies them. When you go to the hospital to deliver, show them your MaternityCard and simply tell the hospital to send MaternityCard your bill. Then MaternityCard will process the bill for you and reprice the charges to make them the lowest possible. Your Patient Advocacy Team member will answer any questions you have about how this works. Call them for more information. Attention: Every child and every pregnancy is unique. If you're having a scheduled c-section or pre-induced labor, you may need to pre-register. In this case, the best thing is to contact the Patient Advocacy Team so they can help you when you talk with the hospital. Question: What is the hospital " super-bill "?
Here's the important thing. When your MaternityCard Patient Advocacy Team receives your hospital super-bill, it examines the super-bill and looks for ways to reduce everything possible. Of course, we have computer programs we've developed to help us do this, but sometimes the Patient Advocates get together to discuss how to best handle extraordinary super-bills because every MaternityCard Patient Advocate wants to do the best they can for you. We invented MaternityCard to serve you and also save you money, and the Patient Advocacy Team members are your MaternityCard super-bill repricing experts. They're on your side! Question: What is the biggest or most important hospital super-bill MaternityCard has repriced for a mom? Answer: MaternityCard has helped thousands of moms dramatically lower the cost of having their babies. As far as your MaternityCard Patient Advocate is concerned when your hospital super-bill comes in, your hospital super-bill is the most important super-bill in the office. This is what a repriced hospital statement looks like:
This is how MaternityCard goes to work for moms and dads: Because MaternityCard contracts with dozens of PPOs both large and small throughout the United States, when the hospital sees your MaternityCard repriced statement, they recognize the codes on it and accept it as an official document. This happens every time because this is the medical provider's agreement with the dozens of PPO networks MaternityCard uses. MaternityCard knows under what circumstances to use specific PPOs to reprice bills for member moms. Click here to see more actual repricing statement examples . Question: Since MaternityCard is not insurance, why do I pay a monthly fee for 12 months of service? Answer: Correct. MaternityCard is not insurance. However, if you don't have maternity insurance and you are going to have a baby, the service offered to mom, baby, and family by MaternityCard can help you lower and control the cost of having your baby.
Remember, if you're pregnant or plan to become pregnant and you don't have maternity insurance, the small monthly fee you pay for MaternityCard not only lowers your hospital "super-bill" and lab bills, it also helps to lower your doctor bills to a smaller degree. MaternityCard is not a substitute for insurance, but if you don't have insurance think of how relieved you'll feel to know these bills will be as low as possible instead of a financial burden. The most important thing is how MaternityCard works with you to protect you against unexpected expenses related to your hospital and lab bills no matter how small or large they are. Question: I had blood work drawn and I didn't have to pay anything while I was at the lab. What happens with my bill? Answer: Blood work of any kind and amniocentesis, for example, are among many of your MaternityCard Lab Benefits. After you speak with your MaternityCard Patient Advocate and get their careful guidance, have every medical provider send all your bills directly to MaternityCard. But if you get a bill from your doctor or your lab, don't worry. That's okay. Just mail the bill to MaternityCard and they will process it for you immediately. After matching the best MaternityCard PPO network rates to your bill, MaternityCard will re-price it accordingly and you'll get an adjusted bill in the mail. After you receive the adjusted bill send your payment directly to your provider as soon as possible. Question: What if my doctor, hospital, and lab are not in the MaternityCard PPO network of 450,000 providers? Answer: If you use an out-of-network provider, don't worry. The people in your Patient Advocacy Team are experts. MaternityCard also has a staff of out-of-network communicators who will speak to your providers for you. The important thing is while the Patient Advocacy Team are not miracle workers, they've been known to achieve amazing results! They know exactly what to say and do to save you money even when you use out-of-network providers. Of course, you can save more when you use the in-network providers because MaternityCard can put its PPO repricing to work for you. One thing is sure, when you get your hospital super-bill and see how MaternityCard has re-priced it to save you money, you'll be so happy you enrolled in MaternityCard you won't be able to stop talking about it. We encourage you to tell everyone you know about MaternityCard. Question: What advice can you give me about how to get the most savings with MaternityCard? Answer: If you want to use your MaternityCard to the fullest extent and want to save the most money, the most important thing you can do is call the special toll free 800 number you get in your Membership Kit and listen to the recorded message. Then, if you have any questions, talk with the Patient Advocacy Team as soon as possible. The second thing is to use one or more of the 450,000 medical providers that are in the MaternityCard PPO network. MaternityCard has worked hard to bring together top notch PPO networks to serve you, and to pass all the savings possible to you. The smart thing to do is stay in the network. By the way, insurance companies require their clients to stay in their PPO networks to get their benefits. To find out if your doctor is in the MaternityCard PPO network, after you enroll call and speak with your Patient Advocacy Team. They'll look up your doctor for you. They will also give you great advice about how to save the most money with your MaternityCard. After you enroll, you can call them any time. The Patient Advocacy Team is your lifeline to maximum savings. |
MaternityCard ™ Question: Since MaternityCard is not insurance, what is it exactly that MaternityCard will do to help me and my family to pay for the cost of having our baby? Answer: Yes, that's right. MaternityCard is not insurance. MaternityCard members are not paying for insurance. In the case of MaternityCard, moms and dads are investing in a common sense solution to the problem of not having maternity insurance. MaternityCard is an affordably priced service organized to save moms and dads thousands of dollars related to maternity costs. The majority of these costs are hospital-related, and also doctor and lab related. What MaternityCard does is explained in detail throughout this web site. If you want to save thousands of dollars on your maternity and the birth of your baby, please read this web site carefully. Also, please understand Americans want top medical care, but not all Americans are insured because of the high cost of insurance. In some cases, they may not be insured because insurance companies will not insure them due to one or more pre-existing conditions. In an article from MSNBC, November 29, 2004, titled "Hospitals get hostile with the uninsured, Congress finds those without coverage pay much more," MSNBC says:
The article tells how Jim Greenwood, Member of the House of Representatives, has done extensive investigation of hospital billing practices related to uninsured people. He says:
The article goes on to say:
What does MaternityCard do? It has contracts and relationships with dozens of PPOs, many of whom are the same ones used by insurance companies to "negotiate low prices with hospitals," but in the words of Representative Jim Greenwood, "the uninsured have no one negotiating on their behalf." In short, MaternityCard works like an organized army of dozens of national and regional PPOs for uninsured pregnant moms that are dedicated to saving you money. If you don't have maternity insurance, and you want to save money, MaternityCard can help you. |
Question: How do I enroll in MaternityCard? Answer: It's easy to enroll. Just complete the MaternityCard Request Form and a friendly MaternityCard Representative will contact you. There's a basic application. You can pay by check, Visa, or Mastercard. A welcome kit will be sent to you. It includes great information and your identity card. You show your MaternityCard to your providers. It normally takes two weeks from the time you enroll until you can use your card. To save the most money, it's best to sign up as soon as possible. Act now to save yourself unnecessary stress and worry. For more information and how to apply, complete the MaternityCard Request Form. (Click on link) Question: Can MaternityCard pay for all my doctor bills? Answer: No. Your doctor expense is less than your other expenses. That's why MaternityCard gives you the doctor benefit as a complimentary bonus. In other words, the doctor benefit is basically a free MaternityCard service that helps to lower that bill too. Look at this chart again. What do you really want? Do you want MaternityCard to lower your doctor bill by 60%, or do you want MaternityCard to lower your hospital bill up to 60% or more? The real power of MaternityCard is that it helps control and lower your hospital "super-bill".
Question: What is the Patient Advocacy Team (PAT)? Answer: The Patient Advocacy Team is a special service for MaternityCard members. PAT goes to bat for you when you call or need assistance. They talk to your hospital and doctor for you, and your medical providers send MaternityCard your bills. PAT examines and re-prices your medical bills and works to achieve maximum savings. The Patient Advocacy Team is a full time service benefit of MaternityCard. PAT is here to serve you. They're available to answer any questions you have related to MaternityCard and your membership benefits. They're focused on helping you to enjoy your maternity. Call them anytime. They'll help you get the most from MaternityCard. They make it easy for you to squeeze every cent you can out of the cost of your pregnacy care. Question: Does MaternityCard have a forum on the internet I can use to keep in touch with everything about MaternityCard and my benefits? Answer: The Patient Advocacy Team hosts a very active MaternityCard Members Only Forum. You can use the private MaternityCard Forum to get information from the Patient Advocacy Team and to keep in contact with them. There are public and private areas. You can have private conversations via the Forum with your Patient Advocate and others. To give you an idea of how important the Patient Advocacy Team is at MaternityCard, the Patient Advocacy Team represents the largest portion of our staff. The entire purpose and focus of MaternityCard is to be an easy-to-use money saving service for moms and their families. Question: Why do people enroll in MaternityCard? Answer: To save money. If they don't have maternity insurance and they're having a baby they know that big bills are coming, and if there's a way to lower them, they're going to take action. When they talk to their insurance agent, the agent says, "You can't buy maternity insurance once you're pregnant in the same way you can't buy fire insurance after a fire." Check with your insurance agent. In many cases, you have to pay into an insurance plan for 12 to 18 months before it will cover a pregnancy. Most insurance policies consider pregnacy a pre-existing condition and require a waiting period prior to them offering coverage. If you become pregnant during that waiting period, no matter how much you've paid in, your health insurance will not pay anything for you to have your baby. Your 12 to 18 months of payments for health insurance may cost hundreds of dollars per month. Of course if you don't have a baby after 12 to 18 months of payments, you also have to keep paying for your health insurance just like you pay for auto insurance every month whether or not you're in an accident. Check with your insurance agent.
Recent news reports tell us that hospitals charge people without insurance up to four times more than what they charge people with insurance. The simple truth is that with MaternityCard on your side, you won't overpay to have your baby. MaternityCard protects you from paying too much. It's really that simple. You will either pay your original hospital and lab bills without our help, or enroll in MaternityCard and let us dramatically reduce the cost of having your baby. To speak with a friendly MaternityCard Representative about applying now or to ask questions after reading this FAQ, complete the MaternityCard Request Form. (Click on link) Question: After I enroll in MaternityCard, what happens? Answer: The first thing that happens is you receive your MaternityCard Membership Kit. It has your MaternityCard identification card and other important documents. It also has important phone numbers and code numbers that identify you as a member who is allowed to access MaternityCard benefits nationwide. Immediately after you receive your Membership Kit, call the special toll free telephone number inside. This gets you started fast and easy. It's important to do this because you'll hear a recorded message that tells you everything you need to know so you can get the best use of your MaternityCard. You'll also receive a welcome letter that gives you access to your Patient Advocacy Team Forum. After you've followed the easy step-by-step process given in the recorded call, your membership benefits are usually fully activated within 7 to 10 business days. Upon hearing the recorded message, please call the Patient Advocacy Team and get acquainted. Your Patient Advocacy Team member will walk you through the program and answer your questions. The Patient Advocacy Team is on your side. Everyone on the Patient Advocacy Team is a specialist in helping MaternityCard moms and dads receive full value for your membership in MaternityCard. They work hard to make everything easy for you. Your Patient Advocacy Team member wants to handle things for you so you can relax and enjoy your pregnancy. Question: What is the MaternityCard 24-Hour Nurse Benefit, and how does it work?
The nurses available to you 24-hours a day are all Registered Nurses . These Registered Nurses are fully qualified to give you professional medical advice. They can help you with any concerns so you don't need to call your doctor and pay more. These nurses are always available for you, 24-hours a day even after your baby is born. After you have your baby, if you need any advice (even late at night) call your nurse. Question: After I pay my MaternityCard fee, do I have to pay my repriced hospital, doctor, and lab bills too? Answer: Yes. You have to pay all your bills. However, MaternityCard will lower your bills. After repricing your hospital bill, for example, you'll get both the original hospital bill and the repriced bill. You'll be amazed at how much you save! Remember that in addition to meeting your commitment to pay your small monthly MaternityCard fee, you must also pay your repriced bills. This is important. The spirit of service at MaternityCard means that everyone here - from bottom to top - works hard to give you the best service. We value our PPO networks and the work they do for our moms. All we ask in return is that you pay your bills so that the PPOs we work with will continue to allow us to provide this service to all moms across America.
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