Child Health Plus Income Requirements

According to a United States Census Bureau report, "Income, Poverty and Health Insurance Coverage in the United States: 2008," the number of uninsured Americans rose to 46.3 million in 2008 from 45.7 million in 2007. Health care reform remains a hot political and public debate while millions of families struggle with the choice of either putting food on the table or going without necessary medical care. New York State has implemented a program to help make this choice easier for low to middle income residents with young children. This program is called Child Health Plus.

What is Child Health Plus?

• Child Health Plus is a health insurance plan for children who are ineligible for Children’s Medicaid and are not covered under any other health insurance. Income-eligible children can receive medical care from participating health providers and get access to an array of health care services, including dental, vision, speech/hearing screenings, physicals, immunizations, X-rays and lab tests, prescriptions and long-term hospital care. Child Health Plus has provided affordable health care to children since 1992 and is currently only available in New York State.

Who Qualifies?

• A child under the age of 19 who resides in New York State and is ineligible for Children’s Medicaid may qualify for Child Health Plus. He must not be covered under or qualify for any health insurance, such as employee-sponsored health coverage, six months prior to application. If he has been covered under health insurance, there may be a waiting period before he can enroll in the plan.

Income Requirements

• A household must meet program guidelines to qualify a child for Child Health Plus. Eligibility is determined by the family's monthly gross income and size. As of 2009, the maximum eligible monthly income for a family of four is $2,939. As long as their monthly income remains under this amount, children will have free health coverage under the plan. Households with a monthly income higher than $2,939 will be required to pay a monthly premium ranging from $9 to $60 per child, up to the plan-specified maximum per family. For example, a family of four that includes two children who have a monthly income of $4,500 would pay a monthly premium of $18 ($9 per child). If that same family’s size increased to eight and now includes six children, and their income has remained the same, they would pay no more than the maximum premium of $27 as governed by the plan. There are no co-payments with Child Health Plus.