Pregnancy and Travel Insurance

Unless you’ve already had children, you know that once you have one, your life is forever changed from that point. At least for a couple of years, you can forget about many of the things you’ve done frequently in the past. This is one reason why many pregnant women like to travel during their pregnancy, knowing it will be much harder (and probably impossible) to do so after the baby has been born.

 
If you intend to travel while pregnant, here are some important considerations to keep in mind:

 
First, even though people normally tend not to look at the terms offered by the travel insurance (“the fine print”) when going on vacation, now might be a good time to start doing so. The reason being, insurance companies consider pregnant women to be ‘high risk’. This is understandable, as there may be circumstances where the woman delivers her baby in a foreign country where she does not have medical insurance. Furthermore, there may be complications with the pregnancy while abroad which will require immediate medical attention.

 
Consequently, often pregnant women are not covered unless they return 8 weeks before their due date. In order to prevent aggravation and real risks to you and your baby, make sure you check this clause in your travel insurance. Make sure this applies both for your departure and your return dates – better safe than sorry!

 
Furthermore, the risk of complications greatly increases if travel is in the second half of the final trimester – so regardless of insurance policies – think hard whether you want to endanger yourself and your baby in such an advanced stage of pregnancy.

 
Second, if you are unable to find a company that will offer you travel insurance and you absolutely must travel (and these circumstances do occur), contact an insurance broker directly and see whether they are able to create a specific policy for you. Be warned, this will be more expensive than a standard policy, but this price is well worth it in case something does occur while you are away from home.

 
Third, most airlines have some type of restrictions with regards to pregnant women. Thus, before you purchase a ticket, check the specific restrictions placed by the airline you chose. Also, as you are probably aware, most airlines do not allow pregnant women to travel once their pregnancy is past a certain stage. Be sure to find the specific conditions before you leave. Note that the safest period to travel – from a statistical point of view – is the second trimester of the pregnancy. Keep this in mind!

 
Fourth, before going on any trip, it is a good idea to go see your doctor and have a checkup. The last thing one needs on a vacation in a foreign country is to discover she had a problem that needs urgent care. This can be avoided! Furthermore, in the final stages of pregnancy this is actually a necessary requirement in order to demonstrate you are eligible to fly, both for the insurance companies and the airlines who aim to minimize their risks, so obtain a letter from your physician that assures them you are in good health.

 
In conclusion: if you are pregnant and have decided to embark on a vacation, please follow the above advice as it would help you avoid certain unnecessary risks. If all is well, have a safe – and enjoyable – trip! And be sure to send us pictures!

What are HIV and AIDS?

Is there a person who has not heard HIV (which stands for Human immunodeficiency Virus)? We highly doubt this fact. HIV has been first discovered in 1981, and it is assumed that as of January 2006, it has killed more than 25 million people. Infection with HIV can occur through several different ways, all involving some sort of transfer of bodily fluid (which can be blood, semen and breast milk, to name but a few).

 
Most people who contract HIV eventually develop AIDS (which is almost synonymous with HIV, even though it is not the same thing). AIDS stands for acquired immune deficiency syndrome, and basically means that at this point, the HIV patient’s immune gradually becomes weaker over time, to the point where the individual is extremely susceptible to illness and tumors. This can manifest in a variety of ways including pulmonary infections, gastrointestinal infections and even have neurological and psychiatric effects. It is very likely to eventually lead to the individual’s death.

 

Is there a cure?

Although there is no vaccine or cure for AIDS or HIV, there has been a lot of progress made in the decades since HIV’s discovery. Consequently, there are effective antiretroviral methods which can slow down its progress, as well as reduce its mortality rates.

 
Since a person who has contracted HIV may unwittingly transfer it to another person which most commonly happens during sexual intercourse, it is very important for individuals who suspect they may have HIV to get themselves checked. There are multiple types of tests, including ELISA, western blot, and rapid or point of care tests.

 
That being said, it is important to remember that HIV tests are not perfect, and at times may produce false positives, meaning, the person is actually healthy but the test reports he has HIV, as well as false negatives, meaning, the person is infected with HIV but according to the test he is healthy.

 
However, the accuracy of HIV testing is getting increasingly better. In 2005, using a western blot HIV test, the chance of a false-positive is roughly 1 in 250,000.
There are several organizations that provide this anonymous and confidential HIV testing. These tests can be done using urine samples, blood samples or even saliva samples. Furthermore, there are also home testing kits which can be used at home.

 
In conclusion, if you suspect you may have contracted HIV, get yourself checked. It is crucial, not only so you could obtain treatment for yourself, but also so you do not infect your partner or family accidentally.

Here we offer a list of companies that provide you with medical equipment, rental medical equipment, medical supplies as well as discount medical supplies.

 
My Online Medical Supplies offers a wide range of medical equipment and supplies, including:

• Quality Medical Equipment, free shipping on orders over $100
• Mobility aids for you or your loved one - Walkers, rollators, wheelchairs, canes and more.
• Accessories for wheelchairs
• Get Bathroom Safety Aids for you or your loved one. Keep your bathroom safe from accidents.
• A mobility Scooter for people with limited mobility
• 5% Discount on CPAP Tubing! Use coupon code TUBING at checkout.

What is COBRA?

COBRA, the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1985, was initiated to provide emergency coverage for employees who receive health insurance through their employer, and for one reason or another, lose their job (for example, have been laid off) and find themselves without any health coverage. COBRA allows these employees to continue their group insurance coverage if they chose to even after they leave their position.

 

How Do You Apply For Cobra Coverage?

After you have been terminated, your employer should provide you with details as to how you can obtain COBRA coverage.

 

Any Specific COBRA Rules?

First, COBRA coverage also applies to the employee’s family. In addition, an employee can either choose to continue with COBRA or choose not to from the moment he has lost his job – he cannot use this coverage intermittently (i.e. start COBRA three months after he lost his job – in this case he will pay retroactively for those three months).

 

How Long Can I Carry COBRA coverage After My Job Loss?

COBRA coverage can last only a limited amount of time, typically about 18 months. This should give enough time to obtain a different source of health insurance. Hopefully by then the recession will be over as well, and the number of employed people would be on the rise.

 

What are the Advantages of Cobra?

The advantage of COBRA is that it is prevents an ex-employee from the need of obtaining a new health insurance - at least for a while. As stated in other articles, getting such insurance can prevent one from getting treatment for pre-existing conditions. For example, a pregnant woman who is laid off and loses her insurance will have a hard time obtaining a new insurance. Thanks to COBRA, however, this is no longer an issue, as she can simply continue her existing coverage.

 

And the Disadvantages?

Note that depending on the employer, although employees are eligible to continue their previous health, dental and vision coverage, the employer no longer needs to sponsor this. This effectively means that the ex-employee pays the full cost of his health coverage, which will be much greater than what it used to be.

 
Personally speaking, I was using the COBRA scheme for a while, and as far as I remember, I paid about four times as much as I paid before, and this is after limiting the coverage to myself only. This truly makes one realize how big of a benefit health insurance is, and how much companies pay for health coverage for their employees.

 

COBRA Health Insurance and the Stimulus Plan

Thanks to the economic stimulus package (which started in February 17, 2009), certain people who lost their jobs are eligible to receive partial payment for their COBRA premium. We will discuss the eligibility criteria in the next article in this series.

Maternity Plus: offers an insurance plan for pregnant women who have no insurance. Their programs includes doctor’s visits, hospitals, sonograms, lab work and much more. Click here to receive a quote.

This section lists companies that offer dental insurance: unlike other types of insurances, most people can live without dental insurance. However, when the time comes and you find out you need to do major dental treatments and the bill is astronomical, you may regret not having one.

 
DentalPlans.com offers multiple types of dental insurances:

• Compare over 30 discount plans and over 100,000 participating dentists
  

• Special Offer: Join today and receive 3 additional Months FREE!
  

• Discount dental plans in your area, for as little as $79.95/year!
  

• Comprehensive dental plans in your area
  

• Aetna Dental Access in your area
  

• Vital Savings by Aetna in your area
  

• Preferred Network Access: Discount Dental Plan from CIGNA in your area
  

• UNI-CARE 100 in your area
  

• Multi-Benefit Discount Plan: UNI-CARE 200 in your area
  

• Signature Wellness Plan Discount Dental Care in your area
  

• Liberty Dental Program of America in your area
  

• Alliance HealthCard Gold Card in your area
  

• CAREINGTON Select in your area
  

• Dentemax Discount Dental Plan in your area
  

• American Dental Plan in your area
  

• AFHS in your area
  

• First Dental Health Access in your area
  

• Patriot Plan in your area
  

• OrthoCare Orthodontic Discount Program in your area
  

• Qualident Reduced Fee Dental Plan in your area
  

• National Discount Services in your area
  

• Dent-All Plan, Inc. Nationwide in your area
  

• Dominion 6000X Individual Program in your area
  

This section lists companies that offer insurance for international travelers: Get the peace of mind you deserve while overseas. Purchase International Medical Insurance for as low as 70¢ a day.

 
(1) MultiNational Underwriters / Amigo Short Term Medical Plan (Atlas): offers the Atlas Series, short-term health insurance for individuals traveling outside their home country, the Atlas Group Series, Short-term international health insurance for 5 or more traveling abroad and the Atlas Professional, international health coverage for executives taking multiple trips throughout the year. Click Here.

 
(2) MultiNational Underwriters / Amigo Short Term Medical Plan (CitizenSecure): offers CitizenSecure, an international major-medical and term life insurance for individuals and families and CitizenSecure Economy, affordable international medical and term life insurance for individuals and families. Click Here.

 

 

 

In this section you can join a mailing list that qualifies you to free coupons, discounts, and special offers such as free samples from leading brand name pharmaceutical and packaged goods companies.

 
Quality health: Free Samples, Coupons, Discounts, and special offer products.Click here to try this service.

Health Quote Insider: offers free instant health insurance quotes. Users get access to the lowest health insurance rates possible by filling out one simple page and entering a confirmation code. Click here to try! This form is the simplest, so if you’re short on time (or just don’t have patience for longer forms), you may want to try this before the others.

 
Health Plan One: offers free health insurance quotes in seconds. All types of plans are covered including individual/family, group/small business, short-term, student, self employed and Medicare supplemental. Shop over 100 insurance companies rates! (including Aetna health insurance, Blue cross Blue shield health insurance, Humana health insurance, United healthcare health insurance to name a few). Click here to try!

 
Health Plan One (Medicare): also enables comparing the rates of Medicare health plans. This is relevant for people who are 65 or older. Click here to try!