Children with no health insurance coverage are no less in need of medical care and treatment than those with coverage. For children who need assistance paying for medical care, several governmental programs are designed to help pay for health care expenses. The two most widely used programs are Medicaid, Medicare and the Children's Health Insurance Program, which are provided in a partnership between the federal and state governments. In some situations, private nonprofit organizations may also provide financial aid for children's medical treatment.
Medicaid
Any child in need of medical treatment should apply for Medicaid coverage. This program is primarily designed for low-income families, but because of differing eligibility guidelines among the states, the only way to determine if this coverage is available for a child is to submit an application with the state Medicaid office. General speaking, any family with income below the federal poverty level will qualify.
The Medicare program also provides financial assistance for children that suffer from end-stage renal disease. Although Medicare is primarily designed for people 65 and older, there is no age limitation for anyone with end-stage renal disease.
Children's Health Insurance Program
When Medicaid is not an option because family income is too high, financial aid for medical treatment can be found through the Children's Health Insurance Program, also called CHIP. Started in 1997, the program is designed to provide basic medical coverage for uninsured children, such as regular checkups, inpatient and outpatient hospital care, and immunizations. The CHIP program is similar to Medicaid in that the federal government sets basic guidelines and provides funding while each state administers its own program, and can vary eligibility criteria and the extent of services covered. As with Medicaid, any child in need of medical treatment should apply for CHIP coverage.
State CHIP Providers
To facilitate finding state CHIP providers, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services set up the website Insure Kids Now. This site provides essential information about the CHIP program along with a search tool designed to provide a link to the CHIP program in each state. Although most states incorporate the acronym CHIP into the name of its program, several states use unique names, such as All Kids Healthcare for Kids in Illinois and Healthy Kids in Oregon.
Children's Health Insurance Program Reauthorization Act
The original CHIP legislation contained a provision terminating the program in 10 years. The program was reauthorized by Congress in 2009 by the Children's Health Insurance Program Reauthorization Act of 2009, called CHIPRA, and is scheduled to last until 2013. CHIPRA provides continued medical coverage for children already served by CHIP and is designed to increase the number of uninsured children covered by allocating more resources to the states. CHIPRA also permits the states to cover children of recent immigrants.
Private Nonprofit Organizations
In addition to government programs, financial aid for children's medical treatment can also be found through private nonprofit organizations and charitable groups. For example, Shriners of North America operate hospitals throughout the U.S. that provide free medical treatment for children. Other local, special-interest groups may provide financial assistance or assist with fundraising for a specific need. Information on such groups is usually available through libraries or local government health offices.
