Nothing rocked our world more than when Johnny and I became parents. To say we were consumed (both times) is an understatement. Consumed with blissful love, yes. Lots and lots of that. But we were also consumed in pretty much every other way — time, attention, sleep (or deprivation of), patience (or lack of because of the latter), diapers, etc. During those first few weeks (okay, months) of having a newborn, even a simple act like showering or vacuuming the house or even eating took advance planning to make it happen.
But one aspect of having a new baby that hasn’t been all-consuming for either of our bundles of joy has been the hospital bill. The first time, Johnny’s employer’s insurance covered every cent. Heavens to Betsy! That was amazing. But this go around, we owed almost $4,000 out of pocket. Yeesh. But even this second time around, paying the bill was pretty painless. And it’s all thanks to getting paid to have a baby by our supplemental insurance — Aflac.
I should probably stop here and clarify that this is not a sponsored post — in any way. We’ve gotten a ton of questions about how our Aflac insurance works after we have a baby, and now that Wynn is almost three months old (where did the time go?!), I finally have a moment to share just that.
As I mentioned above, Aflac is supplemental insurance. In other words, we have a primary insurance that received thehospital bills for the birth and hospital stay. Whatever our primary insurance didn’t cover, Johnny and I were responsible to pay out of our own pockets. The end. Except, not really, because that’s when our supplemental insurance came into play.
Once our hospital bill was finalized, we filed a claim with Aflac. The process was fairly straightforward and simple. I printed off and signed a HIPAA release form from Aflac’s website and mailed it to them. They then requested my billing records from the hospital. And a few days later, we received a check in the mail for $3,600. Magic!
That probably leaves you scratching your head, wondering what the heck happened. These questions and answers should help clarify things:
So how does Aflac insurance work? On our end, we pay a monthly premium, which we have on auto-pay through my bank. On their end, when I have a baby, they pay us. Technically, the reason they’re paying out isn’t that I’m having a baby. I have two policies: Personal Sickness and Hospital Indemnity. Together, those two plans work favorably for a pregnant woman who is about to undergo a major medical procedure (giving birth: check) requiring hospitalization (two nights of recovery and bland hospital food: check).One has a $30 premium, and the other has a $50 premium, combining to equal $80 per month.
Is it worth it? It all depends on when you have children. From the time we started our Aflac policy until Sally’s birth, we paid 30 months of premiums, or $2,400. We received a $4,100 payout, netting $1,700. From the time we had Sally until Wynn was born, we paid 27 months of premiums. And while I paid $2,160 in premiums, we received $3,600 in cash back, netting $1,440. We like to think of our Aflac premium as a monthly savings account toward having a new bab (and it doesn’t hurt when that savings account has a 69% interest rate). At the end of the day, we’ll still break even as long as we have a baby within 45 months of each premium cycle.
How do I sign up? Originally, I signed up through my employer, but now we just pay Aflac on our own. Since it’s been a while since I signed up, anyone can begin the sign-up process and get a quote for Aflac through their website.
What are the rules? The only rule I know of is that from the time Aflac’s insurance kicks in until a baby is born, there must be at least a 10-month gap. In other words, you can’t sign up for Aflac if you’re already pregnant. And you have to wait at least a month before becoming pregnant. Please note that this is based on information from a few years ago, so check with your Aflac agent to confirm.
That’s pretty much all the scoop I can give. From our perspective, having Aflac was been a well-timed pay day and worth every penny. Aflac makes the process fast and painless, and we’ve been really happy with their customer service. I only have our own perspective we can share, so we’d love to hear anyone else’s experience! Has anyone else used Aflac or another supplemental insurance to help pay the baby bills? Please share!
