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Child Health Insurance Plan
According to a press release from the American Academy of Pediatrics Subcommittee on Health Insurance Coverage and Access to Care, there are over nine million uninsured children in America (11 million when counting to age 21). The goal of all states, however, is that their children up to age 18 will have access to coverage under a child health insurance plan.
There are basically three types of child health insurance plans offered in the U.S. to children whose parents cannot afford other private health insurance:
- Medicaid (provided to children whose family incomes meet the low-income qualifications)
- State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP)
- A variety of programs, including Medicaid expansion, funded by states, counties and private grants.
The State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) is Title XXI of the Social Security Act. Families whose income is too high for Medicaid eligibility can often qualify for a SCHIP. The CHIP program in each state has a different title customized to the state. Each state designs its benefits, payments, eligibility requirements and operating procedures. Although the federal government provides some funding for CHIPs, each state administers its own program. The Internet is an ideal way to search for details on your state's individual CHIP.
Aside from Medicaid or a CHIP, many insurance carriers now allow children or grandchildren to be insured under private policies without the parents being insured. Bear in mind that you will need to apply for each child separately, as a separate policy is required per child.
A child health insurance plan can cover a newborn baby from day one usually up to 30 days. At that point, the child needs to be added to the parents' health insurance plan; this is not automatic, and parents need to remember to enroll their babies as dependents.