Insurance Company Takes Backdoor Approach to Denying Midwife Coverage

by Roxann MtJoy · 2011-06-17 15:01:00 UTC
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When Holly Yeager got the news that she was expecting her third child, she wanted to make sure that she could have the same incredible, safe birthing experience that she had with her first two babies. So, Holly contacted her new insurance company, Geisinger Choice, to find out if her midwives were covered by her plan. Geisinger Choice said yes, so Holly proceeded as planned with her pregnancy plans. Unfortunately for her, things were about to get very complicated.

At Holly's initial appointment at her preferred midwife practice, Birth Care and Family Health Services in Bart, Pennsylvania, she was asked about her wishes regarding where she'd like to give birth. She indicated that she'd prefer a home birth, but was willing to compromise and deliver at the birthing center, depending on what her insurance carrier allowed. Three days later, Holly received a letter from Geisinger Choice denying coverage for both options.

So, why would an insurance company who previously stated in covered care by midwives deny Holly these options? A call to the customer service department netted this response: while midwives as individual practitioners are covered, the actual spaces where they do their work (homes, birthing centers, etc) are not. The director of Birth Care and Family Health Services has been trying for years to get someone from Geisinger Choice to meet with her and visit the center without luck.

All of this leaves women like Holly without choice in their own birthing experience. Geisinger Choice has labeled home birth "alternative care" and refused to cover it. Okay, but given that planned home births have the same infant and maternal mortality rates as hospital births and significantly lower rates of medical intervention — such as caesarean section, episiotomy, and vacuum extraction — all at a lower cost, aren't they a good alternative for the women who want them?

Tell Geisinger Choice that it should cover true choice in birthing care. It only makes sense to cover midwives where they actually practice.

Photo credit: christyscherrer

Roxann MtJoy is a freelance writer who previously worked as a case manager at a domestic violence shelter. She is currently attending graduate school for theater in Mount Vernon, N.Y.

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