Government Help with Medical Bills for Children

According to the National Coalition on Health Care (NCHC) over a million people annually lose their homes due to medical bills. Also, more than half of all bankruptcies resulted from medical expenses and over 47 million people do not have insurance. Around 9 million Americans who are uninsured are children. Medical bills are a reality for millions of families with children since nearly 20% of all hospital stays are youth under the age of 18. Federal and state governmental assistance can help relieve the cost of medical expenses incurred by American children and teenagers.

SCHIP

• In February 2009 the President signed the State Children's Health Insurance Reauthorization Act to renew the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) and to expand the program's coverage from seven million to 11 million children and pregnant women. CHIP provides matching funds to states to provide medical insurance. The costs that are covered by CHIP vary by state but some of these expenses include doctor visits, prescription medicines, dental costs, and hospitalization of children. Tax monies pays for these federal and state sponsored programs and families might have to pay a small cost for services depending on their income.

Catastrophic Illness in Children Relief Fund

• The Catastrophic Illness in Children Relief Fund (CICRF) provides Massachusetts families with financial assistance. The Massachusetts state treasury oversees this fund. The CICRF gives economic assistance to children experiencing medical conditions requiring services that are not covered by private insurance, federal or state assistance, or any other financial source. This Fund is a safety net for families who have excessive expenses related to a child's medical needs. The CICRF reimburses families for medical cost already incurred by the child. Families must download an application from the CICRF website (see the References section of this article for more information) and mail it back to the organization; they do not take electronic submissions for security reasons.

Children's Health Fund

• The Children's Health Fund is a national organization that provides healthcare to the most medically underserved children through the development and support of primary care programs, response to health crisis, and promoting access to health care. They use federal and state support to help fund their national network of pediatric programs for low-income people. This organization provides 22 programs which are based at medical centers and federally qualified health centers. Medical cost can be alleviated through these programs, which cover but are not limited to dental, mental health and intensive primary care.

Hill-Burton

• Some hospitals use government money to build their facilities through a federal plan called the Hill- Burton program and in return they offer to offset the cost of medical bills for patients who cannot afford to pay. Also, they make their services available for all people within the facility's area. Families could possibly reduce the cost of medical bills by applying for this service. Eligibility is based on income and the program has to inform the patient through individual written material about this particular service. Keep in mind that a facility's medical costs for patients are covered under this program and not doctors fees.

Assistance Program

• The federal government has a Medical Assistance Program that provides economic assistance to states for medical aid payments for people who receive financial assistance. Children and pregnant women are two of the eligible types of groups that could use this aid to cover medical cost. Pregnant women and families of children who are eligible for cash assistance could also be eligible to receive this kind of medical financial payment. Each state determines how this plan is carried out and applicants can apply for this program with their local welfare agency.