Affordable Health Insurance for Kids

If you have kids then you know you spend almost as much time at the pediatricians as you do at Grandma's. And every sniffle, every shot, bang, bruise, cut or scrap - can add up to major medical bills if you do not have adequate health insurance. If your job does not provide family coverage you need to know about some options for affordable health insurance for kids.

Every State in the country through programs that are alternatively known as SKIP -State Kids Insurance Program, or CHIP -The Children's Health Insurance Program provide affordable health insurance for kids of families that do not have insurance, but who's income level is higher than what would qualify for Medicaid. These programs provide affordable health insurance for infants, kids, and teens for working families that can be earning as much as 34,000.00 per year. Doctor's visits, prescription drugs, and hospitalization are all covered by such kid's health insurance. You can find out more about the specifics of the program available in your state usually by logging on to your states official website, or by contacting your States Division of Insurance. You can also find out more about the programs through the Department of Health and Human Services by logging on to http://www.insurekidsnow.gov/

If you do not qualify there are still other options for purchasing individual or group health insurance for your kids. And even if coverage for your children is available through the SKIP or CHIP programs, these plans do not cover yourself or other adult family members. So you may want to get a free quote on affordable kids health insurance from a private insurance company. If you are going to shop around for private medical insurance or affordable individual health insurance that includes coverage for your kids, there are a few things to keep in mind specific to your child's healthcare needs. Usually even healthy kids will require many more trips to the doctor than the typical healthy adult. However this is what can help make private kids health insurance affordable as you can select a policy with a higher deductible, which always results in lower premiums. However it is also important with kids to make sure that your policy covers "preventive medicine" visits like immunizations, which are also far more common in kids than adults. Again between cough medications, antibiotics, allergies and a whole host of other medical conditions unique to children, kids will also on average require more prescription drugs than will adults so it is very important that any policy you purchase for your family also include some kind of prescription drug coverage.

As parents our greatest responsibility is the safety and welfare of our children. Just as you would not let your kid skateboard without a helmet, don't let them go through childhood without adequate health insurance. It is protection for them and for you. With recent studies finding that over 70% of the children without health coverage probably qualify for state or federal programs, and with other options for affordable health insurance for kids available, there is no reason to compromise when it comes to this important aspect of your kids' health.