[BR53]

My wife called her HR person today, and she was told that the baby wouldnt be covered until the adoption was finalized. We have always been told by our attorney that the baby is covered the minute they are born, just as your natural baby would be.

When my wife said this, the HR rep replied "how can we cover a baby that is not officially yours yet?" meaning not official until adoption is finalized.

What are the experiences of parents that have adopted in the past?

Thank you.

[kelceesmom]

Our daughter was covered the day she was signed out of the hospital into our care.

Be careful and keep digging. Most insurance's will only give you 30 days to add a dependent and then you are out of luck until the renewal time.

We didn't finalize for 11 months so there would have been no way we could have covered for that long on our own.

You need to call back and ask to speak to the supervisor.

[mommamarci]

I believe it is a law that babies palced for adoption be treated the same as bio. Not sure if it is federal or by state though.

For us, our first son was covered from date of placement. (He was 10 days old before we got a call.) Our younger son was covered from date of birth even though TPR was not signed until he was 4 days old.

We were told if we had any hassle, to contact our attorney and he could put something is writing making the insurance cover the baby.

Good luck!

[KansasMomToBe]

I would call the insurance company directly and ask to speak to someone that handles or is familiar with the adoption process and terminology.

We did this prior to our adoption of DS and it did turn out that because he was placed with us at birth all of his medical expenses and those of his birthmother were covered by our insurance. (birthmother expenses are not typical, but it is our state insurance law)

I really helped having a contact at the insurance company that made sure that all of the hospital and doctors fees were covered and not denied.

[Cjmeck]

Our insurance covered our daughter at 3 days old; as soon as TPR was signed, she was "ours". I would contact your insurance company directly, get it in writing and bypass the HR rep. And, we don't finalize until next month.

[nikkianni]

I'm with those who say to contact your insurance company and maybe even your lawyer.
Our daughter was put on our insurance the day she was born. And TPR wasn't signed until she was almost 48 hours old.
I know policies and laws vary, but I believe in this case it goes by what the insurance company allows for newborns in general. And Denice is right, most only give you 30 days to add a dependent, so waiting for finalization doesn't even make sense.

[Eponine]

Same thing you've heard - skip HR and talk directly to the insurance company. Be prepared to call several times and talk to several people, partly it is jargon and people don't realize what "finalized" means vs. "placed" and partly some people just don't know what they are talking about.

And I agree with kelceesmom, you may have a time limit or have to wait until renewal time if you don't meet it. Make sure you know what paperwork/documentation the insurance company wants. We couldn't get what they wanted within the 30 days so DS isn't covered until July 1 when it's renewal time for us.

[HappyTwinsMom]

I agree with the others who say to bypass HR and go directly to your insurer. I called our insurance company before the girls were born and was told initially that they wouldn't be covered until finalization. When I said "So what I'm hearing you tell me is that you are penalizing me for being unable to conceive. Perhaps I should consult my attorney." I was quickly put on hold while the customer service rep check with her supervisor. What a shock when she got back on the line a moment later to say "No, I was mistaken. The child(ren) will be covered from birth."

And it was true, too. Our girls spent 29 days in the NICU to the tune of just under $130,000. My husband's insurer (primary) paid 70% of the bill and mine (secondary) paid 30% - we never paid a dime out of pocket.

Push, push, push - and keep going up the chain of command until you get an answer that makes sense.

[mumofone]

Our children were covered from the day we brought them home.

[Stormster]

From the moment we left the hospital with him.

But some of the early early stuff we had to lay out, still got covered though.

[mrskt]

From our adoption binder:

"The Federal Omnibus Reconciliation Act of 1993 requires that group health plans provide coverage for children placed for adoption with plan participants, regardless of whether a child is a biological child or a child placed for adoption, and whether or not the adoption is final."

Hope this helps!
Katy

[JLW99]

Agree with all of the above...
DD was covered from date of placement, at 24 hrs old, prior to TPR. HR person gave me MUCH wrong info about baby not being covered til finalization (would take minimum 6 months to finalize). I went right to Blue Cross and straightened it out, was told by them that it's the law that the baby is covered from date of placement, UNLESS the company is self-insured. You might want to check on that, but ours wasn't.
Keep up the fight It's not easy.

[Amber76]

Our insurance covered our son from the date the placement agreement was signed. We did have to send them a copy of the placement agreement, then they backdated the coverage.

[ses1230]

Originally Posted by BR53

My wife called her HR person today, and she was told that the baby wouldnt be covered until the adoption was finalized. We have always been told by our attorney that the baby is covered the minute they are born, just as your natural baby would be.

When my wife said this, the HR rep replied "how can we cover a baby that is not officially yours yet?" meaning not official until adoption is finalized.

What are the experiences of parents that have adopted in the past?

Thank you.

If you have a group insurance plan (which I assume you do since HR is mentioned) it is a federal law.

Here is some info I found helpful when we adopted. It is a quote from a magazine article. I don't know if I can post the link, so I'll PM it, but here is the quote:

The Omnibus Budget
Reconciliation Act of 1993 (OBRA’93),
Public Law 103-66, amended the
Employee Retirement Income Security
Act of 1974 (ERISA). The amended law
requires that any group health plan
which provides coverage for dependent
children must provide benefits to a child
placed for adoption under the same
terms and conditions as apply to a child
who is the biologic child of a plan participant.
OBRA’93 specifically eliminated
any requirement that the adoption be
finalized in court before there is coverage.

Good Luck!

[Adopted-B-4]

Our babies were each covered the minute we left the hospital. My understanding is that once the child is placed with you, coverage starts. I think you may have spoken with someone who doesn't understand the terminology or something. I'd call back and speak with someone else if I were you.