Utilizing your health benefits package for newborn and postpartum care plans
In the last few years, employee benefits programs covering fertility, birth, and postpartum care have expanded across the nation. A number of these programs exist, some of which include: Carrot, Maven, CarePlus, Progeny, etc., with new companies continuing to pop up.
As a postpartum care agency, many potential clients ask if we work with folks who have benefits programs and the answer is a resounding YES! Since these companies are relatively new, we’ve put together this guide to help you understand and maximize the use of your health benefits packages.
Ideally, you’ll be planning in advance for care, but if you happen to find out that you have access to one of these plans close to or immediately after the birth of your child, you can still use this information as a quick and handy checklist to get your ducks in a row and get the support you need.
What you need to know about your benefits program
Before hiring a caregiver or agency to support your family, we recommend assessing several aspects of your health care benefits, considering the level of postpartum and newborn care you’re looking for, and have a good understanding of the process.
Funds
Know the amount allotted to you and decide how much you want to allocate toward postpartum care for your baby. Some benefits are fixed while some are an annual allotment that reset each calendar year.
When your benefits total is fixed, there are some things to consider when determining how much of the total you would like to use:
- Am I planning on having more children?
- If so, do I plan to use fertility options to get pregnant for my next pregnancy?
For folks who aren’t planning on having additional children or who aren’t likely to need fertility benefits for future pregnancies, you may want to consider using your entire allotment on postpartum care this time around. For those who are planning to grow their family and/or will need to use fertility options in the future, you may want to consider using only a portion of the funds available. If you have an annual allotment, strategizing the use of your funds will likely be less of a priority.
Duration of Care
Many programs offer postpartum care reimbursement for a certain number of weeks after your baby is born. This ranges from 6 weeks to many months. The caregiver or agency you partner with will need to know this, plus the funding allotted to your family, to help guide you toward the package and services that best support your needs and budget and to ensure that your program will reimburse you for the care you book.
*Of course, if you want to pay for additional support beyond what is allotted to you, we are able to plan for as long as you need us!
Terms & Conditions
Read and understand the services your funds will cover and run these by your caregiver or agency in advance so they can ensure your paperwork is in alignment. Some programs are very strict about the wording in contracts and slight variations that go against their service agreement could disqualify you from reimbursement or require you to submit even more paperwork.
Caregiver Requirements
Many programs require that your caregiver(s) meet certain training hours, client experience, job titles, and certifications. Please share these in advance to ensure that the caregivers assigned to your family meet these stipulations.
Paperwork
This will vary from plan to plan. For example, you may be required to submit a caregiver attestation form and invoicing / contracts for review. Please tell us what you need so we can get these materials to you in a timely manner. Which leads us to…
Pre-approval
Some programs ask you to submit paperwork in advance of your care, while others allow you to submit paperwork after it begins. Know what you need and share this with us so there are no surprises! Almost all plans work on a reimbursement basis, so please be prepared to pay your deposit and invoices up front.
Stay Up-to-Date
Since many of these programs are new, qualification requirements and individual benefits can be dynamic. As an agency, we’ve witnessed companies expand their duration of coverage from 6 weeks to 8 weeks postpartum care or require physical signatures rather than digital. It’s possible that, from conception / adoption / surrogacy to birth, some details of your plan may have changed. It’s always good to revisit your plan as close to the baby’s due date as possible to ensure you’re in compliance.
What if I have FSA / HSA Funds?
If you have FSA or HSA funds you would like to use toward care, double check with your provider to confirm what is covered. Then let us know if you’d like to use the funds towards care and we’ll be happy to provide you with a detailed receipt for reimbursement!
Happy Family After will help you navigate the process
To date, all of our members have been 100% reimbursed for services covered by their benefits plan. Please reach out to us, so we can help you determine the level of postpartum and newborn care services you need and navigate the process!