Best Options for Medical Insurance for Kids

Medical Insurance for Kids – Overview

Health insurance is a must for access to prompt and effective medical treatments. This is especially true when the cost of medical treatments keeps rising significantly.

Many, small and large enterprises provide health insurance policies for employees.

Some are federal or state-funded and subsidized insurance policies, while others are more expensive and elaborate private health insurance plans.

However, there are times and situations when your insurance policy may lapse or fail to provide cover for treatment of your kid’s health disorder.

Currently, there are no federal fines for parents in the United States for not having a health insurance policy for their kids.

In such cases, it is highly recommended to be prepared with medical insurance for kids.

Best Medical Insurance for Kids

Numerous state-subsidized and private insurance companies offer medical insurance for kids at affordable prices.

Medicaid, CHIP, TRICARE, and other commercial health insurance policies are highly popular. Let’s take a good look at these top medical insurance for kids:

Medicaid and CHIP

Medicaid is a federal-state-funded health coverage program and is extremely helpful for low-income families with small children, especially those with special care needs.

CHIP, short for Children’s Health Insurance Program, is jointly funded by state and federal governments.

This initiative provides health insurance coverage for kids and pregnant women who do not qualify for Medicaid or have access to affordable private health insurance policies.

Medicaid and CHIP ensure that children receive prompt and regular check-ups and provide affordable visits to pediatricians and physicians whenever required.

According to reports, around 40% of Medicaid enrollees are children, yet they account for less than 20% of Medicaid spending.

Over one year, Medicaid helps around 35.5 million children with affordable healthcare services. Additionally, about 9.7 million children in the US rely on CHIP for access to affordable healthcare in a year.

Other Options for Medical Insurance for Kids

Besides CHIP and Medicaid, several other comprehensive health insurance policies are available for children.

Children, especially those belonging to low-income households, may face higher risks of severe health problems due to lack of health insurance coverage.

If, for any reason, you and your child do not qualify for medical insurance coverage under Medicaid or CHIP, then you can find out more about:

Employer-sponsored insurance (ESI)

Employer-sponsored insurance allows employees to choose the benefits they can enjoy under the selected health insurance policy.

Several states have also mandated a list of joint and rare medical disorders whose treatments are also covered with private employer-sponsored health insurance policies.

Exchanges

Exchanges have been authorized under the Affordable Care Act as the marketplace for purchasing affordable health insurance policies.

Families who choose to buy health insurance packages through Exchanges are also eligible to receive financial assistance in some cases.

Health insurance plans bought through the Exchange should cover specific benefits, such as behavioral or pediatric health care.

In addition, the provider network must also include satisfactory numbers and types of healthcare providers.

TRICARE

TRICARE is a health insurance initiative run by the Department of Defense (DOD) and is offered to active service members and their families, including their children.

TRICARE offers comprehensive healthcare coverage that is adequate for children, but it is structured differently than Medicaid or CHIP.

How to choose the best Medical Insurance for Kids?

As mentioned above, there are several medical insurance options for kids.

You can easily access www.healthcare.gov to get detailed information on eligibility criteria and the application process, or you can call the dedicated phone number and even email them.

Visit the website and fill out the form after downloading it online.

However, before filling out the online application, you will be asked to create an account on www.healthcare.gov or the insurance marketplace provided by your state. At the time of applying, you will need to keep in hand the following documents:

Social Security numbers (for US citizens)
Document numbers (for non-citizens)
Employers and income information
Policy numbers of any existing health insurance policy

If you have access to employer-sponsored insurance but are unsatisfied with it, you can get coverage through any of the various options provided on healthcare.gov.

However, to do this, you may use a form titled “Employer Coverage Tool” on healthcare.gov to help determine your eligibility for savings.

You only need to fill in basic information, such as the child’s name, your home address, email and phone number, along with answering a few questions relating to your citizenship, dependents and if you have plans to file a federal income tax return the following year.

Once you sign up for the chosen plan and pay the first month’s premium, you and your child can immediately start getting the insurance policy benefits.

Conclusion

Medical insurance for kids is essential for any family to ensure prompt, effective, and affordable medical treatment for their kids.

The variety of options makes it easy for almost everyone, irrespective of their financial status, to buy and enjoy health insurance benefits for kids.

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