Questions in re: insurance policies, shopping for an OB

heatherroneous

Pardon how uninformed I am on this matter - I come from a military background and in the military it's very straightforward.  You get pregnant, you go to the base hospital for nine months, and then you deliver there at the end.  No copays, no shopping around for OBs.  So since my husband separated from the AF a few years ago, we have had to get used to civilian healthcare/insurance and it is very confusing.  So that's my long preface. 

 

This is our first pregnancy and I am wondering how to choose an OB.  My regular doc gave me the name of a gal he recommends.  So do I call her and set up a consult to talk with her and see if I want her, or do I have to wait until eight weeks and set up an actual appointment with her and go through the pain and misery of a full workup?  And then suppose I don't like her - do I just rinse and repeat with the next person on the list?  

 

I am post-vaginismic and pap smears / pelvic exams are painful for me (not just uncomfortable), so I really can't do this any more times than absolutely necessary.  Plus I would have to explain the vaginismus situation to every OB I go to... and there are some people out there (even doctors) who don't believe in vaginismus as a real disorder.

 

I'll not even get into detail about the fact that blood draws make me faint!  Haha!

 

Soooooooooooo... someone please explain how this works?   And if anyone can explain insurance to me too, that'd be great.  We've been civilians for a few years now, but have only had to see the doctor a few times, so there are some things I don't get.  Prenatal care is covered by our insurance policy, but I don't understand what the lady means when she says 'deductible'.  Basically what she told us is that there is a $60 copay for delivery (I get that), but the hospital stay is billed separately and there is a $1000 deductible for that.  What I think that means is - suppose the hospital stay is $3000, I would pay $1000 and the insurance would pay the rest.  If the hospital stay is under $1000 (yeah right), I would be responsible for the full amount.  Is that correct?

 

Apologies if this post is super confusing and jumbled!  I'm pretty tired!