Maternity leave can have a significant impact on your ability to obtain health insurance. Maternity leave, namely the duration of time a new mother takes off from work after giving birth to a newborn baby, can often make it difficult to obtain a new health insurance plan. Many health insurance companies will not issue new individual policies to women currently taking maternity leave.

Why is coverage so difficult to obtain while under maternity leave? This is usually only the case if you are trying to obtain an individual plan. If you belong to a group health insurance with maternity leave as one of the benefits, then you are in a good position to claim benefits during your leave period. The problem with obtaining coverage generally exists for those seeking individual insurance because maternity leave is usually not covered under these types of plan. Although individual health coverage still exists for those already under maternity leave, it is important you be aware of the limits and exclusions that may exist for those applicants already under leave. Even though most insurance companies would prefer to decline offering maternity benefits on an individual basis, group medical insurance plans offer them more flexibility due to their ability to offer better coverage options to applicants on a group basis.

Employers are required by law to treat pregnant women equally. Due to the Family and Medical Leave Act, or FMLA, pregnant women must be given the same benefits as other workers who are unable to do their job for a given period of time. For example, if the boss allows an employee medical leave for a car accident, then a pregnant employee must get equal leave under the same terms and conditions. Fortunately, maternity leave does not tend to adversely affect any health insurance benefits a pregnant mother would receive under government-sponsored health plans such as Medicare, Medicaid, and other assistance provided by individual states.

It is recommended that you seek the advice of an experienced health insurance broker to sort out all of your options. If your insurance comes from an employer-sponsored group plan, then you should also check with your human resources department to review all the details about what maternity leave options your group coverage provides. Although not impossible, it can be a challenging, uphill battle. This is especially so considering most applying mothers do not understand all of the qualifications and restrictions involved with obtaining a new health insurance plan while under maternity leave. Although the best route is to have all required health insurance coverage planned for and obtained prior to pregnancy, there is still a slim chance that a health insurance plan can still be purchased even during leave.