Hi all,
My wife is expecting. I dont have health insurance. I am on F1  visa and she is in F2. The pregnancy cost around anywhere from 8K to 12 K. How do I manage it? As a cash customer they can only offer 20-30 % discount. But still thats lof of money. Do you know anybody been in situation similar to ours, how they managed it? Is there any way to avoid the expensive charges. We are in TX.
Thanks,

 
When it comes to an 'emergency' situation there is 'don't ask, don't tell; policy. Take her to an emegency during due date, and tell them she doesn't have social security and no ID. But carry her passport in case. 

 In most places, free insurance is provided to low income people and/or for pregnant women. Please contact your county office or county health center for further info.
... and oh yeah, Congratulations!
- Jangali Maanab

WIC प्रोग्राम खोज्ने , they may suggest something.

congrats! there are medicaid options if your GA/TA isn't paying you $2,392 each month, in which case your wife's pregnancy will be covered as they will qualify you under a low-income bracket.

call some doctors' offices and explain your predicament. i would find a doctor who works in a government hospital and  call his/her office as they are very familiar with situations like yours and would do the paper work in a breeze.

best wishes.

Thank you all for your time and wishes. We are still looking for resources and options. Let us know if you find more.

 Kaalubaby, congrats. You mentioned that a pregnancy might cost 8 to 12 k. You might be surprised to hear that last month I had a baby (a normal delivery) and 2 night hospital stay for mother and the baby cost 18k, let alone the prenatal care visits. I can't even imagine what would it cost had it been a C-section. This is just for your information so that you don't get a shock if you get a bill of more than 12k. 

Ok here is what we did when we had our first baby (we were on F visa). We went to the county health department and asked for options. Then we applied for medicaid, unfortunately which was denied the first time. We reapplied and then finally the application got approved. Keep in mind that medicaid pays all the bills right from the beginning of pregnancy, so just keep the bills on hold. We didn't pay a dime. Then after the baby was delivered the medicaid was transferred to the baby. So just go to the county health department and talk to social workers. Even if your medicaid application is unsuccessful, your bills might be waived. There is another instance (not pregnancy) where we racked up 7k hospital bills. We applied for financial assistance and finally paid only about $300 dollars. 

Hope that helps

Thanks, Sparty
They said you have to be US residents to apply for medicaid however we can apply for CHIP which doesnt require residency and covers only the unborn baby from prenatal to delivery. So we have applied that one. So you think while submitting applciations we could  have checked in the medicaid too? I need to take her for prenatal visits and be ready for due dates so I just want to be prepared. Also as per suggestions here in thsi thread, knew about WIC which is basically foodstamps for baby needs like nutrition and all that. Did you apply that one too, Sparty?

I don't know where you live in Texas, but if you live in Dallas County, you can apply for Parkland Health Plus, insurance program from Parkland Hospital. They charge $25 for doctors visit, and minimum fees for other services at Parkland Hospital and other clinics under Parkland Health System. You can go to Parkland Hospital to apply or any other clinics run by Parkland Hospital System.

where are you in Texas? If you are in Houston area you should be able to get a Chip insurance.