Medicaid is a public form of health insurance that exists in every state. Part of the Medicaid program is designed to cover the health care needs of women. In North Carolina, there is a Medicaid for Pregnant Women program.
Medicaid is a public, or government run, form of health insurance. It is designed to provide health insurance coverage for individuals and families who are low-income and who cannot afford to purchase a health plan from a private insurance company. Medicaid is funded, in part, by the federal government. It is also funded by the government of an individual state.
North Carolina has two Medicaid programs that will cover the health care needs of women who are pregnant and who are low income. One of them is the Medicaid for Families with Dependent Children program.
To qualify for this program, a woman must be pregnant. She must also have a monthly countable income that is lower than the amounts listed in a chart of the Medicaid website. The woman also cannot be from a family that has more than $3,000 in assets, (such as savings in a bank account).
The other program that covers women who are pregnant is simply called Medicaid for Pregnant Women. It only covers services related to pregnancy. Those services include: prenatal care, delivery, and 60 days postpartum care. It also includes services to treat medical conditions which may complicate the pregnancy, childbirth classes, and family planning services.
A pregnant woman can apply for the program either before, or after, she delivers. A woman who has recently experienced a pregnancy loss may also be eligible. The woman must have a family income that does not exceed 185% of the federal poverty level. There is a chart that tells more about the monthly income limitations that go with this program.
There is also a Family Planning program that is called Be Smart. The program currently exists, and will continue through October 31, 2012. The website says “After that date, services will be continued through the proposed new State Eligibility Option for Family Planning Services”.
There is no further information about whether or no the Be Smart program will continue to exist after October 31, 2012, on the North Carolina Medicaid website. As far as I can tell, the only other Medicaid program in North Carolina that covers family planning is the Medicaid for Pregnant Woman program. Oddly enough, this could mean that the Medicaid program in North Carolina will only cover family planning for a woman who has already been pregnant.
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