With pregnancy and the birth of your child, you undergo many life-changing experiences that maternity brings with it. This time can also come with a lot of financial stress and medical aid claims as you account for a new little human.
Without the right structures in place, managing your finances while you are pregnant can be overwhelming. During your pregnancy as well as the time that follows it, medical bills for prenatal care, childbirth, and postpartum expenses rack up and can set you back financially.
Having access to maternity benefits is a means of ensuring you have peace of mind in knowing both you and your baby are covered. As a trusted gap cover provider, TRA understands the challenges new moms face when it comes to navigating their maternity benefits and respective medical claims.
In this article, we’ll provide you with a guide to help you manage your finances during this exciting time.
Your Cherished Maternity Milestones
Becoming a new mom is an exciting time as women have the miracle of welcoming their beautiful babies. With all the care required before, during, and after pregnancy, it can also be a time of financial strain as you try to navigate pregnancy and childbirth.
With all the doctor’s visits that are required for both you and your baby, medical bills related to pregnancy, childbirth, and everything that follows can add up quickly.
When you are pregnant, the task of trying to manage everything financially should not be front and centre. Effective financial understanding and planning make adapting to all the changes happening that much easier, eliminating the likelihood of new moms feeling overwhelmed and stressed.
We understand the challenges new moms face when it comes to navigating medical claims during pregnancy and the period that follows it, and we want to make things that much more bearable.
Understanding Your Cover for Medical Claims During Pregnancy
To successfully navigate medical claims during pregnancy, it is crucial to understand how far your medical aid cover extends. Whilst you might be covered to a certain point, there can be gaps that need to be covered from appointment to appointment.
Before your due date, make sure to review your policy to understand what your medical aid covers and what they do not. Certain limitations may apply to procedures, such as ultrasounds, extra scans and epidurals.
If you’re not sure about your coverage, reach out to your medical aid provider to gain a better understanding. When it comes to medical claims, it is always better to be proactive and aware than to be caught off guard by unexpected medical bills that can add up quickly.
Opting For Gap Cover
The medical claims associated with pregnancy, childbirth and the postpartum period can be a surprise to new moms and new moms-to-be. Whilst having a medical aid plan in place can safeguard you financially for the most part, gap cover can be a saving grace when you need it most.
With medical aids covering a portion of medical claims, gap cover can step in to cover the financial shortfalls you are covered for. Your medical aid might cover a portion of the in-hospital claim; however, instead of being stuck with the balance of the bill, having gap cover ensures that very financial gap is filled.
This ultimately secures you financially as you do not have to worry about the financial shortfalls of in-hospital or major medical claims.
TRA: Your Provider Of Choice
TRA is currently proudly looking after 2891 registered new moms that have access to a range of maternity benefits to ease the transition of such a milestone life event. Offering a range of benefits, we help give peace of mind to women anticipating or undergoing all the life changes that come with having a baby.
Now more than ever, having good gap cover is becoming indispensable as certain conditions originating in the perinatal period have increased by 88.79% yearly. This sees a significant increase in the number of claims by pregnant women that need to be covered.
List Of Pregnancy Benefits
By choosing to have gap cover that works hand-in-hand with your medical aid cover, you ensure that both you and your baby are in safe hands. With a wide range of maternity benefits, TRA gap cover ensures you are covered from every angle. Most benefits include in-hospital and major medical claim shortfalls.
When planning for your pregnancy financially, make sure you are aware of the number of allocated consultations annually. It is also important to understand what benefits will be applicable to your baby once they are born.
In terms of maternity benefits, not all medical aid schemes will have this in place. As a means of safeguarding your medical cover, you should consult with your medical aid advisor to find out what is needed in order to qualify for the required cover.
Keep Track of Your Medical Expenses and Claims During Pregnancy
During and after your pregnancy, it’s crucial to keep track of your medical expenses. By doing so, this can help ensure that you are aware of the current total as well as what portion has been covered by your medical aid scheme and what is still outstanding.
This information can help you stay on top of your out-of-pocket costs and avoid surprises when the bills start rolling in.
Plan for Maternity Leave
Planning for maternity leave is crucial in successfully navigating your finances and medical claims when welcoming your baby. Pregnancy brings a spectrum of changes in every avenue of life, and naturally, new moms want and need time off from work to bond with their babies.
It is crucial that this step of the planning is thorough and in line with your employer’s policies regarding maternity leave. Understanding whether it will be paid maternity leave or unpaid leave will make a significant difference. By understanding your employer’s policies, you can safely plan for the financial impacts of taking time off for maternity leave.
Here To Help Your Journey
Trying to navigate medical claims before, during, and after pregnancy can be overwhelming, but it doesn’t have to be. By planning ahead and being equipped with the best possible understanding, you can manage your finances during this exciting time with ease and freedom.
TRA is here to help you along this exciting journey to ensure you have the utmost peace of mind that both you and your baby are covered. We continue to help new moms confidently navigate their finances, and we can do the same for you. Contact us today to learn more about our products and services. Alternatively, explore our website to gain more information on what TRA is all about.
