Pregnant wife, Company health insurance in 42 days...

[MrMoneyAbsent]

Hello all, new to the form, but absolutely loving the ideas here.

Question is, my wife is due with our first child in early February. Long story short, the last company I was with dragged me on and on about when they could make me eligible for health insurance and ended up laying half the company off. I have a new job, and a new deadline to be eligible for the company health insurance. We will be fully covered on Dec. 18th. I am debating about signing her up for some immediate coverage with a high deductible in the interim just in case something was to go wrong before Dec. 18th. Do these types of insurance even exist? Is this rational? She thinks I am crazy and she will be just fine.

[StacheInAFlash]

Are you eligible to get ACA coverage right now? Given your change in job and lack of current coverage, you might be eligible.  It could  be a hassle to get all signed up, but getting insurance for a month or two wouldn't be too much money. Or, it is maybe possible for her to get on Medicaid or some other program right now since she is pregnant...I believe some states have special programs for expectant mothers.

Are you being crazy? No, not at all. Lack of medical coverage is nothing to sneeze at, and women go into early labor all the fucking time; if it happened before December 18th, you better believe you'll be running up a half million dollar bill in the NICU in no time.

[CommonCents]

My coworker delivered six week early.  (Fun times here at work covering her job and the early retirement.)  Others have had to do weekly monitoring (some really expensive test) as their date approached due to concerns over the babies' development.  Things happen.  ACA is a good interim idea. 

[Dicey]

One more vote for interim coverage. Shit happens.

[honeybbq]

How long since you were laid off? Can you play the COBRA game?

[Tick-Tock]

A good friend ended up spending many weeks on strict bed rest in a maternity ward before she delivered.  Get coverage.