Keeping the Home by Lori Seaborg

Tuesday, March 20, 2007

Children's Health Insurance Programs

Someone asked me about our children's health insurance coverage, so I wanted to pass on the note to you all in case it can help someone else:

Oh, I am so happy that you asked if the children's health insurance was in your state so I could find this link!! http://www.insurekidsnow.gov/ It is the government's site with a list of all of the programs available from each State. I have used the programs in Florida and in Alabama, and they worked the same.

In both states, I was able to sign up online. I had to sign that our children were without health insurance, and give just a little financial and other information. It's a simple application and I never had to mail in paperwork in either state. If you make too little money, they will refer you to Medicaid, as this plan is not for the poor. There is an income cap, though, based on the size of your family.

I don't know if the plan works the same everywhere, but in both Florida and Alabama, we paid $50 per year per child up to three children (you would pay less or more depending on income, but never over $100/year/child up to 3 children) and in both states, we pay nothing for ER visits, nothing for most services. We pay $3 once in a while as a co-pay, normally for routine doctor visits. At the pharmacy, I believe we pay nothing. We didn't pay anything for vision or dental. And we have for the most part been able to use any doctors that we already had, since the insurance is with a major insurance company.

It has been an AMAZING blessing for us to have this. Our children don't go to the doctor for illnesses or routine visits, but this insurance has been a great peace of mind for us. We have used it for ear surgeries and for broken bones and ER visits and speech therapy and physical therapy. With 4 little ones, emergencies do happen!

If anyone has uninsured children, I really encourage you to look at your state's children's health insurance plan. It will give you such peace of mind: http://www.insurekidsnow.gov/