Private Medical Insurance for Children

If you are self-employed or without access to an employer's health insurance plan, you may have to purchase private health insurance to obtain health coverage for you and your family. Unfortunately, private coverage is typically more costly than group plans, and insuring a child by himself may be difficult.

Coverage

• Regardless of what type of health insurance policy you purchase for your children, your insurer must provide your children with routine childhood preventive care at no out-of-pocket cost to you. For example, insurers cannot charge you a copay, coinsurance or deductible for hearing screenings, blood pressure checks, well-child doctor visits, flu shots and other vaccinations as recommended in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Service's childhood immunization schedule.

Pre-Existing Conditions

• As of September 23, 2010, health insurers can no longer deny health insurance coverage to a child because of a pre-existing condition, or medical condition that began prior to applying for health coverage. Furthermore, insurers cannot exclude or limit benefits for the pre-existing medical condition in a health insurance policy's terms, which ensures quality health insurance coverage for all children under age 19. By 2014, the law will require that parents purchase health insurance for themselves and their children, or else pay a tax penalty to offset the federal costs that uninsured individuals impose on the government.

Effects

• Because of the pre-existing condition discrimination rules in The Affordable Care Act, many health insurers no longer offer consumers the option of purchasing child-only health insurance, instead requiring that parents add children as dependents to an existing health plan. According to John Dorschner of the Miami Herald, many insurers ceased to offer child-only plans to prevent parents from waiting to purchase health insurance until after their children fall sick. Parents who wait to purchase insurance for their children until they need it can forgo paying unnecessary premiums, resulting in a loss of profit for health insurance companies.

Considerations

• Private health insurance is typically much more expensive than the premiums offered through group insurance plans. If you cannot afford private health insurance for your children, or simply wish to insure only your dependents but cannot find a child-only health policy, you may consider applying for CHIP, or the Children's Health Insurance Program. CHIP is a state and federally-sponsored health insurance plan available to children under age 19 who live in low to middle-income households. Each state implements its own financial eligibility guidelines for its residents, with some states accepting children in households with incomes up to 400 percent of the federal poverty level. If your children qualify for CHIP in your state, you will pay reduced premiums or possibly none at all for comprehensive health benefits that include dental care.