Question received online this morning: “I want to know if someone without social security number can enrol for insurance and does it cover maternal care?”
OnlineAdviser response: “Yes. Anyone in the U.S.
, citizen or not, short-term or permanent resident, can enroll in health insurance without a social security number. A social security number is not required for any of the insurance plans listed or linked from Freedom Benefits. Some health insurance covers maternity expenses, others do not. Generally the plans offered through state insurance exchanges in the fall offer maternity coverage and cover this as a pre-existing medical condition (your question did not mention if this is the case). Meanwhile some other coverage else may be needed that does not offer maternity coverage for pre-existing conditions.”
I fear that sometimes people don’t phrase their questions in a useful way. For example
, what if he had meant “Help! My girlfriend is pregnant and doesn’t have health insurance”. Then the response is completely different.
Also, despite popular misconception, a social security number is never required to obtain health insurance. The federal government has made this abundantly clear and I’ve covered this in several past blog posts. Still, the belief persists. Again, this might be a phrasing issue. perhaps they meant that a social security number is required for government-paid health benefits or to use the government’s online health insurance exchange.
A follow-up:
1) Some types of health insurance covers maternity costs. Not all plans cover maternity coverage. Most online insurance excludes maternity coverage.
2) Most health plans that cover maternity costs exclude coverage for pre-existing medical conditions. The purpose is to avoid paying out more in benefits that is collected in premium cost.
3) A “pre-existing medical condition” in this case is when the woman is pregnant before the policy starts. It is important to recognize that these are separate issues. Just because an insurance policy covers maternity costs does not mean that it will cover your maternity costs.
4) I do not have access to insurance costs. These are available through online exchanges or local insurance agents. I can only provide answers to questions like you asked earlier.
5) The type of health insurance that covers BOTH maternity costs and covers pre-existing conditions is not available now. It is priced in the fall after October 1 2018 and coverage starts January 1, 2019.
6) If you have serious questions with limited understanding of how insurance works then I recommend meeting face-to-face with a medical service clinic or social services worker connected to a healthcare facility near you.