Finding Health Insurance for Your Grandchildren
By: Source: AARP.org Date Posted: 2003-12-01 00:00:00-05:00
Children who have health insurance generally are in better health. They get the shots that prevent disease. They get the treatment they need when they are sick. This means that ear infections don't keep coming back and getting worse. They get "preventive" care that makes sure they don't get sick as much.
Many grandparents do not have any way to pay for this kind of health care. Private insurance costs too much. And the insurance that grandparents get on the job usually doesn't cover their grandchildren.
Luckily, your state has two programs that can help you get health coverage for a child. You will pay little or nothing for this coverage. It is paid for with your tax dollars. One program is Medicaid. The other is a program called the State Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP or SCHIP).
Medicaid
Medicaid helps people with low incomes pay their health care bills. The federal government works with each state to run that state's program. Each state has its own rules about who can get help from Medicaid.
Children who qualify for Medicaid can get benefits until they are 19 years old. Most states pay for doctor visits, screenings, and hospital bills. Your state may ask you to pay a small part of the cost for some of these services.
State Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP or SCHIP)
If Medicaid won't cover your grandchild, CHIP might. CHIP is special health insurance for children. There is a CHIP program in every state. Some states call it CHIP or SCHIP. In other states, it has a different name. Each state has different rules about who can get help from the CHIP program.
Most states will make you apply for Medicaid first. You can apply for CHIP if you don't qualify for Medicaid. Some states have one form to apply for both programs. They will tell you which program your grandchild qualifies for.
CHIP pays for checkups, eyeglasses, shots, medicine and hospital stays. Most states cover children until they are 19 years old.
Applying for Your Grandchild
There are a few things that you need to know about applying for your grandchild's insurance. Your state may not tell you these facts. But they are still true.
First, you don't have to be the parent to apply for benefits. In most cases, you don't even have to be the child's legal guardian. A grandparent can apply to Medicaid or CHIP for a child. The papers you get from the state may refer to a "parent" or "family" applying for help. Don't let this confuse you. You can apply, too. Every state allows this.
Second, some program rules are different for children who are being raised by their grandparents. Take income rules, for example.
When a family applies for Medicaid or CHIP, it has to answer some important questions. The state asks how big the family is. It also wants to know how much money the family earns. Then it decides if the family should get aid. In many states, a family of four can get help from Medicaid if it earns $24,482 or less. The same size family can get help from CHIP if it earns $36,800 or less.
If you are raising a grandchild, the state treats you in a different way. Most states will not look at your family's income when they decide if they can help your grandchild. They look only at the child's income. Most children don't have any income. So they are more likely to qualify for help.
Please note that a few states will count your income when deciding whether to help your child. Wyoming counts a grandparent's income for Medicaid. Five states will count your income for CHIP if you are a child's legal guardian. They are Colorado, Florida, Montana, Nevada and Pennsylvania.
AARP Resources
Kinship Care Fact Sheets
AARP and several of its partners have compiled fact sheets for each state that include Census data on grandparent caregivers and information on resources and services, state policies, public benefit programs, and state kinship care laws.
AARP GIC Support Database
Information about local support groups and agencies for grandparents.
Additional Resources
Medicaid Information for Consumers
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid provides consumer information.
Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP)
To find out the telephone number of your local CHIP program, call 1-877-543-7669 or visit this site.
Children's Defense Fund
Information on Medicaid and CHIP. Find out about eligibility, where to call, what to do, and links to your state's program.
American Academy of Pediatrics
Issues affecting children and adolescents.
Books
Find these books online at Barnes and Noble.com:
Grandparents as Parents: A Survival Guide for Raising a Second Family
Sylvie de Toledo and Deborah Edler-Brown, Guilford Publications, Inc., July 1995
The KidsHealth Guide for Parents,
Steven A. Dowshen, Elizabeth R. Bass, Elizabeth Bass, Neil Izenberg, McGraw-Hill Companies, 2001.
The Portable Pediatrician, Second Edition: A Practicing Pediatrician's Guide to Your Child's Growth, Development, Health, and Behavior from Birth to Age Five
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