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| Pregnancy and Health Insurance |  Question
I recently discovered I'm pregnant, but I have no health insurance. Is there any way I can get insured?
Answer
The insurance options for a woman who is already pregnant are slim to nonexistent. Our story on how Pregnancy complicates health insurance options goes into detail. If you fall within its low-income guidelines, Medicaid is an option. If you are a college student, your student health center may be able to give you some leads.
You can also try to get into a group health plan that will cover your pregnancy — either by getting a job that offers employer-sponsored health insurance that provides maternity coverage or by obtaining a group policy that covers maternity through a chamber of commerce or other professional organization. If you are currently on a COBRA policy that will expire before you give birth, this is also true; but you cannot extend COBRA coverage past your maximum even if you are pregnant.
You are lucky, if you live in the handful of states that are allowed to cover pregnant women under the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP). CHIP is a joint federal-state program that provides health benefits for children whose parents can't afford insurance but who make too much for existing welfare programs.
Your baby might also be eligible for health insurance under CHIP, after he or she is born. Besides, if you are a parent of a CHIP-eligible child, in some states you may also qualify for health insurance under the program.
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