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Go on your insurance provider’s website to ‘Find a Doctor’ to see who/what hospitals are in network for you. And you can always ask the Dr office to verify that they’re in your insurance’s network before your appointment so there are no surprises.
Agree Local Facebook mom groups are a great resource.
Seconding this. Your insurance provider will have a searchable directory of in-network OBs.
Pro
Based on the bowl you’re in you might be interested primarily in an OB right now. I would start with the hospital but wouldn’t make it a dealbreaker - I have three kids and delivered them with three different providers in three different hospitals based on my preferences at each time. I would ask in local moms Facebook groups based on what your priorities are - for me it was a strongly evidence-based midwifery practice that supports minimal intervention hospital births; asking around led me to that each time.
Where it can get tricky is both the doctor and the hospital/facility need to be in network to get the most covered by your insurance company.
Even though many insurance policies claim to cover prenatal care, they still may not cover things like ultrasounds, bloodwork, genetic screenings, etc, so you’re still gonna have to pay for a bunch of stuff. My first pregnancy I think I ended up paying $10,000 out-of-pocket when it was all said and done. (I hit my deductible twice because I had a March baby.)
It might vary, but at my hospital you can’t get an OB appointment until you’re actually pregnant, so finding a OB/GYN first is a good call. Most places won’t even see you until week 8-9, so if you do get pregnant you have a month to find an OB.
Edit: I live in Boston where medical care is the best in the world but also insanely expensive. I’m sure it’d be cheaper to have a baby if you’re in Knoxville or something.
Fair point! My employer offers an EDO but the premiums add up to like $11,000 a year, so it’s actually cheaper to just go with the HDHP and pay out of pocket. But paying for it all in the premium does make it hurt a lot less than all these onsie-twosie bills.
Check to make sure the doctor you pick delivers at thr hospital you want to deliver at.
All above comments are great !
This is how i went about picking my OB when i was new in town and never seen a doc before
Research on
1) Nearby hospitals where you would want to deliver
2) Check your insurance website for which OB practices near by accept your insurance
3) Double check with your OB practice you speak to/ pick that they deliver at the hospital you are wanting
4) check about their cost planning for pregnancy etc
Note, the first OB practice ticked all the boxes when i went for a Annual physical check up with them but i did not like how i got treated. Very strong gut feeling, so i changed to another OB later - who are my current ones. Many OB practices if you are pregnant you’ll need to see all possible docs on rotation coz you dont know who will deliver the baby when the day comes - i love every single doc i saw till date with this practice except one guy.
My advice is to ask women in your area for recommendations.