Insurance Eligibility for Children

Throughout childhood, kids require routine medical care, which can prove costly to parents without health insurance coverage. The Affordable Care Act of 2010 makes it easier for parents to acquire health insurance for their kids by simplifying the health insurance application and qualification process. The law also expands the Children's Health Insurance Program for low-income families.

Minor Children

• Under the Affordable Care Act, a health care reform bill passed in 2010, health insurance companies cannot deny a child under age 19 health insurance based on a pre-existing condition. There are no qualifications for children to receive insurance coverage, and all health plans must provide children with preventive care, such as vaccinations and routine health screenings, at no out-of-pocket cost to the policy-holder. Upon enactment of this law, many health insurance providers ceased to offer child-only health insurance policies. Instead, many insurers will only cover children on an adult's policy.

Adult Children

• The Affordable Care Act extended health insurance benefits for health insurance policy-holders with adult children up to age 26. Under the law, the adult children do not have to be students in college or financially dependent on the policy-holder in any way to qualify for coverage. In fact, even married adult children qualify, though spouses and dependents do not. Health insurers cannot charge higher premiums for adult children but instead must bill the policy-holder for adult children at the premium price for a minor dependent.

Enrollment

• Parents with children younger than 19 have no restrictions on the amount of time they have to enroll their children in a health insurance policy. There are no enrollment periods to abide by, and parents may even choose to wait to add children until health insurance is needed. On the other hand, health insurers must only provide an enrollment period for adult children once per year along with other adults on the insurance policy.

CHIP

• The Children's Health Insurance Program is a public insurance offering available to low-income families with children. Known to many as CHIP, the program provides comprehensive health coverage for sickness and emergencies, as well as benefits for dental, vision, preventive care and prescription drug coverage. The program is both federally and state funded, but the states are responsible for setting their own eligibility guidelines. For more information about CHIP in your state, contact your state's health services department.