Health Recommendations

• Children require a great deal of health care during childhood according to the Recommendations for Preventive Pediatric Health Care published by the American Academy of Pediatrics. The AAP recommends 28 physical examinations, eight oral health screenings, 12 types of vaccines and numerous other diagnostic tests and screenings before age 18. Medical insurance can help alleviate the costs associated with routine childhood medical care, as well as the care needed for unexpected illnesses, broken bones and other treatable conditions.
  
  

Health Reform

• Until 2010, medical insurers could deny health insurance to a child because of a medical condition that existed at the time the child applied for coverage. Federal health reform prohibited this practice for all new health insurance policies beginning September 23, 2010. Now, children that enroll in a health plan receive automatic coverage with no limits on benefits for pre-existing conditions. Furthermore, the government also requires insurance companies to pay 100 percent of the costs associated with standard preventive care for children, including vaccinations, vision screenings and routine well-child check-ups with a physician.
  
  

Extended Dependency

• Though health insurance policies exist that cover a child only without his parents, many parents opt to add a child to an existing health insurance policy as a dependent. Depending on the parent's health insurance policy, adding one or more dependents may be more affordable than insuring a child individually. Children now enjoy extended dependency on a parent's health plan into adulthood due to a federal law that requires insurers to recognize the adult children of policy-holders as dependents until age 26. Children do not lose benefits or pay higher premiums as they become adults, and insurers cannot deny coverage to a qualifying adult child due to financial independence, marital status or if the child lives in another state.
  
  

Medicaid and CHIP

• Parents who cannot afford medical care insurance for their children may qualify for a government health plan through Medicaid or the Children's Health Insurance Program, also known as CHIP. The programs are available to low-income families with children, and eligibility correlates to household size and income, as well as state income guidelines in relationship to the federal poverty limit. Children accepted into the program receive comprehensive health care that includes primary care, preventive care, emergency medical care, hospital care, ambulatory transfers, dental care and vision care.