Midwife with Berkeley Student Health Insurance Plan
I have the Berkeley Student Health Insurance Plan (SHIP) and have been having some trouble finding a midwife that will be covered. The plan is administered by Anthem Blue Cross but I believe it's a plan specific to Berkeley students. Anthem told me the plan has no covered midwives but the Berkeley SHIP office has told me there are definitely covered midwives, they just don't know who they are/how to reach them. I looked back through the archives but didn't see any posts about the student insurance plan specifically. Has anyone used a great midwife who was covered by Berkeley SHIP? Thank you!
Aug 7, 2018
Parent Replies
As a healthcare practitioner (acupuncturist), I spend a lot of time dealing w insurance. Are you seeking the services of a "home birth midwife" or a certified nurse midwife? If it is the former, you may have trouble finding someone who is "in-network" w your insurance as insurance companies may not allow home birth midwives on their panels for various reasons. However, you may have luck finding a midwife who is "out of network" who can give you what is called a "Superbill" (you pay out of pocket, but you are given the paperwork to file an insurance claim) - if you have out-of-network maternity benefits, you may be eligible for some reimbursements. If you are open to seeing a CNM within a clinical setting, you may have more options in terms of getting "in-network" care...
Hope this helps!
I didnt have SHIP but something similar also managed by Nathem. The way it worked was that there was a directory of covered midwives but none were in the Berkeley area. I ended up paying out of pocket and getting partially reimbursed through Anthem, all in all I paid about $1400 out of pocket for the whole birth. I used Lindy Johnson (she’s wonderful) and delivered at Alta Bates. Hope that helps.
This was shared with me through social services! I was told that it is updated frequently so you may need to check back with SHIP for a new list (though this is as of May 2018).
https://uhs.berkeley.edu/sites/default/files/midwives.pdf
I had the UCSF ship plan several years ago and petitioned the plan to have a midwife covered as none were available nearby at the time.
Thanks for the replies! In case it saves others some time in the future, that list of midwives from Berkeley, while it is their updated list, is completely inaccurate. Most of the phone numbers are wrong or take you to operators, automated lines, etc. My partner and I spent four or five hours calling down the list and couldn't reach a single person. We had better luck googling the names on the list and trying to find other phone numbers. But, in the end, if you have the Berkeley SHIP insurance you have three choices: 1. You can pay out of pocket for a midwife and get reimbursed for some portion (like other replies mentioned) 2. You can get a midwife from LifeLong (or similar clinic) who can do your prenatal care and then a hospitalist midwife at Alta Bates for delivery. 3. You can use an in-network ob/gyn. Hope this might help someone else down the line!