Pregnancy and QSEHRA: What to expect (with your HRA)

If pregnancy is on your mind, chances are that part of those thoughts are focused on the finances that come along with a bundle of joy. Setting aside the costs of trying to get pregnant and the necessary medical care during your pregnancy, the cost of simply raising a child has hit $233,610 (yikes.) Before you panic (or before the panic worsens at least), we have some good news to share. Your QSEHRA plan can help pay for some of the essentials for which you’ll be looking. Let’s look at some of these options a little closer.

Working on getting pregnant?

So far, we’ve only touched briefly on the cost of raising your little one once they arrive. But what about the costs that arise in simply trying to conceive?

For starters, QSEHRA allows you to submit for reimbursement any money spent on pregnancy tests.

Some of us need a little extra help getting pregnant. We know that going down that road is difficult on its own, much less with the extra financial pressure that can accompany the journey. In vitro fertilization can cost up to $11,000-$12,000.

You can be reimbursed for the following procedures performed on yourself, your spouse, or your dependent:

• Procedures such as in vitro fertilization (including temporary storage of eggs or sperm).
  
  
• Surgery, including an operation to reverse prior surgery that prevented the person operated on from having children

What your QSEHRA reimburses during pregnancy and delivery 

You've probably heard this before, but the aches and pains of being pregnant are so real. Your QSEHRA probably can't give you a foot rub but it can help in other ways! 

Get Comfortable: Going to see a chiropractor can help alleviate some of the discomfort and you can be reimbursed for this service without a letter from your doctor. Massage can also be reimbursed during pregnancy but you'll need a letter from your doctor.

Well visits, meds, and lab tests: Your insurance will cover your well visits while you are pregnant. There may be some lab tests that will need to be performed during your pregnancy and fortunately, these costs are eligible for reimbursement. Any medicine that your doctor prescribes is eligible for reimbursement (as a side note, prescription meds are eligible for reimbursement anytime - not just during your pregnancy.) So if your aches, pains, or nausea get to the point where you need help managing them, talk to your doctor about what he or she can prescribe for you before you just take any over the counter option.

Don't neglect those teeth: You’ll be instructed to see your dentist at some point during your pregnancy as its part of preventative treatment, which is always reimbursed through your QSEHRA. You can submit for reimbursement the amount you pay for the prevention and alleviation of dental disease. 

Ready for baby: Classes that help prepare the mother for labor and delivery are also reimbursable. 

The Pump: You’ll want to purchase your breast pump before your bundle arrives. These can get expensive depending on what your insurance agrees to cover (more on that here), but fortunately, you can submit your receipt for reimbursement. 

Delivery and hospital stay: Traditional costs associated with delivery will be covered by your insurance after your deductible is met. Your out-of-pocket expenses would be reimbursed through your QSEHRA (hooray!). But if you want to use a doula, it can only be reimbursed with letter of necessity from doctor.

Remember for later

We’ll be the first to agree with you that raising a child is indescribable and wonderful…. as well as exhausting and expensive. On a random note you may want to tuck away for future thinking - sterilization and/or a vasectomy is reimbursable through QSEHRA. Or for a less permanent idea, birth control is also included as a reimbursable expense.

Moving on!

Shoot us an email at support@takecommandhealth.com or chat with our team online anytime if you have any questions or would like further information! We want to help you along this journey in any way we can and our health insurance experts would love to put your mind at ease any way possible!