Many medical, technical and social strides have been made in the treatment of infertility. Sometimes the legal and third-party payer system process lags behind. Recent legal decisions in some states have defended a surrogate mother's right to access pregnancy based disability coverage.
Significance
In 2010, the Wisconsin supreme court ruled that the state's maternity insurance coverage statute prohibits exclusion of coverage for women acting as surrogate mothers. Prior to the August 6, 2010, ruling, surrogates were denied coverage for maternity services by insurers in the state.
In Wisconsin, the state argued that specific services can be excluded from policies but specific subgroups of insured individuals cannot be excluded. This means that an insurance policy may not cover maternity care for all of its policyholders, but it cannot exclude coverage to a woman because she is a surrogate. If maternity coverage is offered in the policy, no one individual policyholder can be discriminated against.
Considerations
If you are considering becoming a surrogate or if you are looking to hire one, it is important to investigate the rules in your state. Usually the intended parents pay all health care and disability costs related to the pregnancy. Surrogates can be hired from agencies that specialize in this service; negotiations are based on contracts. If you are interested is surrogacy, be sure to read the contracts carefully. It may be a good investment to hire an attorney to review the paperwork for you, whether you are the surrogate or an intended parent.
State Disability Insurance
Depending on where you live, you many be eligible for state disability if you are employed while acting as a surrogate. If your pregnancy prohibits you from being able to perform your occupation, you may be eligible for SDI or state disability insurance. The factors that are considered in the decision include your age, occupation, job limitations, prior pregnancy history, current medical condition and your health-care provider's certification that you are unable to perform your job.
Disability Claims
Once you are no longer able to perform your job functions due to pregnancy and you will lose pay because of your condition, it is time to submit a claim for disability to your state. Your employer may also have disability coverage that you may be eligible for as well. Your health-care provider must certify that you are no longer able to perform your duties at work. If you can work fewer than your normal number of hours, you may qualify for partial disability insurance benefits. In some surrogacy contracts, the intended parents are responsible for reimbursing the surrogate mother for reasonable costs based on her income prior to pregnancy if she should become disabled. This can be very expensive, so be sure to carefully review all disability issues in any contract before signing.
Expert Insight
According to Shelley Tarnoff, J.D., of the American Surrogacy Center, if you decide to act as a surrogate for a family member, or if a family member volunteers to be a surrogate for you, there are certain options available with regard to disability insurance. If the surrogate is employed, in some states it is possible to obtain pregnancy disability insurance. However, Tarnoff warns that coverage is not available for all occupations or income levels. Because surrogacy is a challenging relationship for both the surrogate mother and her intended parents, it is important to consider working with an attorney or other professional who can help draft a process that protects all individuals involved in the relationship.
