New baby, confusion of plans/deductibles/rules. Any input appreciated.

One month away from my baby’s due date, I got on my husband‘s new employer insurance as a dependent so that the whole family would have 1 deductible ($10K) for the year. The coverage started 1/1, but I did not cancel my own insurance through my employer because I hadn’t yet received the cards and didn’t want to risk not having insurance if something didn’t go through. My plan was to cancel it when I received the insurance card from my husbands insurance. However, my baby arrived 1 month early on 1/4, before we received the cards.

I thought that was fine, we’ll just ask them to bill my husband’s insurance for my delivery, but they said they have to bill ALL insurance plans that were active under my name on the day of service. And that the law is that they have to bill the insurance that you are the policy holder of as Primary, and the insurance you are a dependent on as secondary.

This means that my employer insurance will be billed for the delivery, with a deductible of $6k. My premature baby had a stint in the Nicu, and if she’s added to my husband’s insurance, they will meet the family deductible of $10k.

So if I had cancelled my employer insurance immediately on 1/1, we all would have been covered for $10 k deductible. Now we’ll be paying $16 k..

OR we could put the baby on my employer insurance plan instead, and my family deductible is $12,500. But then my husband’s deductible will not be filled for the year, so that’s still not ideal. Unless having a child as a qualifying life event would allow me to add both a child and spouse to my employer plan? And then we’d all be covered under one family deductible ( though still higher than my husband’s employer plan).

So maybe there’s no way around it, but thought there should be someone who may be able to advise.

Thank you for any help.

submitted by /u/promise2keepup
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