Private family leave insurance?

[TMonster]

So by now many of you know my situation, but for those who don't, I found out at my 20 week scan that my daughter has a very complex congenital heart defect and the most severe variant of that defect.

DH has taken 4 days off last week. One due to a broken foot and the other 3 for the scans/echos, counseling, amnio and wait time/stress for the results because he didn't want me to be alone when I got them.

He has about 5 days of paid leave left and accrues about 1 day a month. Because I will now have so many more appointments before the baby is due and he wants to be there for every doctors visit and scan, those are just additional days off he will have to take.

Initially we didn't consider it a big deal because assuming everything went okay after the 20 week scan (we were literally scanned 2 weeks prior and told everything was perfect so had zero reason for concern) I would have had one more scan, the glucose test, a few more short visits with my OB where he wouldn't have to attend and he would have had 2 weeks of leave.

Now we are facing multiple open heart surgeries over the first year and possibly traveling across the country for these procedures.

He does qualify for 12 weeks of FMLA which is, as we all know, unpaid and considering we are now potentially going to undergo such a major expense, having unpaid leave during that time is impossible and he is facing potentially not being there for the birth and surgeries and 6 weeks of recovery each time.

If we were having the procedures done in NYC he would be able to come to the hospital after work and spend time with Zoe but the best surgeon in the world for her specific variant is in CA and while our hospital is a fantastic hospital and sees a case like hers every other month, this surgeon operates on a case like this every week and a half so its vastly preferable.

Now that I've rambled on about the situation. I know that there are some forms of short term disability insurance that allow you to take off to care for a sick child. Even if there is a waiting period, since she will need multiple procedures in her first year and throughout her life, we would be interested in purchasing such a plan. The problem is, I have only found plans that are available for large companies to offer their employees. Are there any individual plans that anyone knows of that will allow us to purchase a private policy?

 

[calliebaby]

You could try a company like aflac..there are other ones too though. Besides that, I'm not sure. Good luck! I hope someone has more of an answer for you.

 

[TMonster]

I contacted aflac but at least in NY you are disqualified from buying a policy if you are pregnant even though I wouldnt use the benefits for this pregnancy and I am only thinking about future situations a year down the line.

 

[surprisedmama]

I don't know of any individual plans, but could your HR department/benefits person at work have ideas? Sure, they may not have anything to offer through the company, but it could be a good place to start. We've asked my husband's HR department questions before about things not 100% related to what his company offers.

So sorry you're going through all this. Good luck.

 

[calliebaby]

That's strange. With my policy (not with aflac) you can buy at any time, even pregnant, just not use it for ten months.

 

[fairsinger]

Is he also disqualified from Aflac because you are pregnant? I can see where they might disqualify you because of the pregnancy, but would they sell him an individual policy?

I also just wanted to give you some encouragement about traveling for your child's doctor: We take my son to another state to go to one of the best doctors in the country for his condition, and while it does cause extra financial and scheduling strain, it is SOOOO worth it! Knowing he's in the best hands in an amazing children's hospital provides such peace of mind. You are right, you want a doctor who deals with the condition frequently, and who has a good surgical track record. We did a lot of research before deciding on his surgeon a few years ago, and since that time he's had two surgeries on his eyes and several follow-up appointments. We are so glad we made the decision to travel for his medical care. It can be overwhelming at times, but it is definitely worthwhile.

I hope you find private insurance that is helpful. Have you tried contacting an insurance broker? They may have knowledge of other options.

 

[alisha_t]

I was wondering the same... can you just cover him individually?

 

[Tasha]

I have no idea but hope you find the answers

 

[TMonster]

I have no idea if he gets covered individually if it would cover him needing to take time off to care for a sick child. I think the child may have to be covered under the policy as well and I am assuming due to her heart condition she would be disqualified.

 

[usamom]

TM- I think we chatted on another thread. Isn't your husband a federal employee? If so- he could apply for the voluntary leave transfer program. I am in management and know a lot about it. He would have to always use his own leave first - but any donations can be banked for the duration of the "emergency" which in your case will be quite a while.

Have you considered that? With your situation I bet he would get a lot donated.

Best wishes! PM me if you want to discuss further.

 

[CastawayBride]

Did you check with his HR? I get 6 weeks of my Family Medical Leave paid, the other 6 weeks not paid...the first 6 weeks are paid with FLI, Family Leave Insurance...

 

[TMonster]

As far as I can tell the federal government does not offer any type of family leave insurance other than FMLA

 

[usamom]

TM- you are correct. It's a huge downfall for those of us wanting to have children while working. I had "use or lose" when I came back from maternity leave with my son. Since he has been sick over the years- I've never recovered my leave balance so I am totally screwed with this pregnancy.

 

[CastawayBride]

As far as I can tell the federal government does not offer any type of family leave insurance other than FMLA

TM- you are correct. It's a huge downfall for those of us wanting to have children while working. I had "use or lose" when I came back from maternity leave with my son. Since he has been sick over the years- I've never recovered my leave balance so I am totally screwed with this pregnancy.

I work for the State of NJ. FMLA the Federal benefit protects the job, however, the State level has FLI for the first 6 weeks that pays your leave as well. If he is Federal it might not be like that unfortunately...

 

[TMonster]

I think NJ and CA are the only 2 states that offer that.
They have been trying to implement something like that in NY for years but so far we have nothing.

 

[CastawayBride]

I think NJ and CA are the only 2 states that offer that.
They have been trying to implement something like that in NY for years but so far we have nothing.

Boo! I think it is fairly recent it came about, it is going to be very helpful though, I am out 5 months and only 6 weeks of that is unpaid. The rest of the time is 2/3 my salary...