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All the states in the United States now have children’s health insurance programs. They are not expensive and they provide for visits to the doctor, prescription bills, hospitalization etc. If your child is insured, then the child is more likely to get vaccines to prevent diseases and get preventive care to keep them safe. You will not need to wait in emergency rooms waiting for your child to get treated when he/she can be treated easily using prescription drugs. These plans also provide substance abuse services.
Every state’s department of public health now offers children’s health insurance for children upto the age of 18. These programs use established insurance companies in each state to provide the service using the managed care plans. They offer continuous coverage for 6-12 month. They do not have any exclusion for pre-existing conditions.
Medicaid also provides children’s health insurance. It has a list of doctors who will accept Medicaid. This service is extremely beneficial for families whose income is so less that they cannot afford the insurance premiums of regular insurance companies. If the children don’t qualify for Medicaid then they can apply for the above mentioned children’s health insurance program in all the states. To get Medicaid, the family income limit for the eligibility of a child aged upto 1 is 185% of the poverty level, of a child between 1 and 5 is 133% of the poverty level, of a child between 6 and 18 is 100% of poverty level, of a child aged 19 and 20 is lower than the income limit for child below 18. There is also a cap on resources at this level but no cap on resources for all the previous levels.
A comprehensive list of benefits offered by the respective state’s children’s health insurance program is physician and clinical services, laboratory and radiology services, surgical services, prescription drugs, dental services, vision, hearing, durable medical supplies like wheelchair, various therapies for language, speech disorder, substance abuse treatment, mental health services.
You can also get a private health insurance for your children if you can afford it. The Medicaid and the State Children’s Health insurance program is to make the health insurance for children affordable by their families. Affordability is one of the prime reasons why children are not insured. If the insurance is offered for free or at a low cost then all the children will get insured and this will lead to the betterment of the children’s health. This improvement in health will result in the improvement in every other aspect of a child’s life. Hence insuring children’s health, making it affordable, is very important for the future of any country.
This article was contributed by Prerna Mordani.
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