About Kid Care Health Insurance in the State of Florida

KidCare programs provide affordable health care services to low-income families. Families may be unable to afford high premiums required by their employer's insurance programs. In this case, these families should apply for KidCare so they their children will have access to quality health care.

Types

• KidCare consists of four different plans. Medikids provides health insurance for kids from ages 1 to 4. Healthy Kids provides health insurance for children ages 5 to 18. Children's Medical Services Network provides special insurance for children from 0 to 18 who have special health concerns. Finally, Medicaid provides health care for children from 0 to 18 who live in households with very low incomes.

Features

• Florida KidCare programs help cover the costs of the following medical services: immunization shots, doctor check-ups, hospital services, necessary surgeries, emergency room visits, eye doctor visits, hearing tests, dentist visits and mental health services. KidCare also helps pay for prescription medicines.

Eligibility

• To be eligible for KidCare, children must be younger than 19 and have no other insurance coverage. Also, they must be U.S. citizen. Parents or grandparents who are raising their grandchildren may apply for KidCare assistance. In general, families may be eligible for KidCare programs if their income does not exceed 200 percent of the federal poverty line. For example, a family of four must have an income less than $3,675 per month to qualify. Medicaid eligibility also requires that income not be more than certain limits based on family size. For example, if a family of four has an income less than $364 per month, they may be eligible for Medicaid for their children.

Considerations

• Medicaid does not charge any type of premium; however, the other KidCare programs charge monthly premiums based on the family's income. According to the KidCare website, most families pay between $15 and $20 per month. This premium can either be mailed to KidCare or paid online at the Healthy Kids website (see Resources).

Application

• Florida residents can apply for KidCare programs either online (see Resources) or go to the local Department of Children and Families office to fill out an application. When filling out the application, they may need to refer to the following items: tax returns, W-2 forms, last month's pay check stubs, cost of employer-provided health insurance, Social Security cards and driver's licenses. Copies of some of these forms may need to accompany the application.