What happens at birth? (health insurance-wise, ACA & Medicaid)

[MrGreen]

A google search of the site didn't yield a thread that answered my question so I'm asking.

We are currently on an ACA plan with the highest Cost-Sharing Reductions (offered to those with income under 150% of the federal poverty level). At this income level, our baby would go on Medicaid when it is born. Has anyone gone through this process that could tell me how it works in practice? Do we need to do anything with Medicaid ahead of time? Does it have to happen after birth because the child doesn't exist (insurance-wise) until then?

I've always heard that up until the moment of birth, all medical expenses are for the mom and then once the baby is out there are expenses that would apply to the child (for cost, deductible, and max out-of-pocket purposes). With a private insurance plan that changes from two to three people, I'd imagine this is pretty seamless since it's all handled by the insurance company internally. I suspect having to "get" insurance (Medicaid) after the fact is a very different animal.

[Cranky]

Ask the hospital where you plan to deliver?

[Morning Glory]

I would ask to speak to a hospital social worker.  They can usually point you in the right direction.

  I set my income at 200% fpl for aca and I had no problem getting my kids on NC medicaid. It took about a month to get a confirmation letter and I still don't have cards, but coverage is retroactive to the time of application. I think the process is probably a little different for a new baby because they wo t have a social security number or birth certificate for a while.

[Weisass]

A google search of the site didn't yield a thread that answered my question so I'm asking.

We are currently on an ACA plan with the highest Cost-Sharing Reductions (offered to those with income under 150% of the federal poverty level). At this income level, our baby would go on Medicaid when it is born. Has anyone gone through this process that could tell me how it works in practice? Do we need to do anything with Medicaid ahead of time? Does it have to happen after birth because the child doesn't exist (insurance-wise) until then?

I've always heard that up until the moment of birth, all medical expenses are for the mom and then once the baby is out there are expenses that would apply to the child (for cost, deductible, and max out-of-pocket purposes). With a private insurance plan that changes from two to three people, I'd imagine this is pretty seamless since it's all handled by the insurance company internally. I suspect having to "get" insurance (Medicaid) after the fact is a very different animal.

I concur with advice to check in with the hospital billing agent on specific questions, but speaking from experience with all of my children, they were insured through my insurance as the mother, and there was a window within which I had to "report" the birth to the insuring agency. The preliminary reporting added them to my insurance, and then I had a window of time that was sufficient for the child's social security number to be released, and then I had to submit that to the insuring agency as well to confirm. So what you hear sounds exactly like my experience with four childbirths.