Medical Coverage Prices for Children Still Based on Health in Some Cases
October 2010
Since March American citizens have been waiting to see how the new healthcare bill would impact our
medical coverage system, especially for the 47 million people who don't have coverage.
Now it appears that negotiating individual health insurance will still be difficult for parents with sick kids.
The issue is a difficult one to resolve: starting this year insurance companies can no longer deny medical coverage to children, not even those with pre-existing conditions. For group policies or family health insurance the cost of insuring sick children is easier to absorb for insurance companies. The premiums paid for the healthier people in the group can help to offset the costs of treating a sick child.
But
individual health insurance policies for children don't offer insurance companies that same benefit. In theory, parents with a sick child can call in, purchase a medical coverage policy for their sick child, and stick the insurance company with astronomical bills.
As a result, many insurance companies had decided to stop offering individual health insurance for children at all. Kids could still be covered through a group plan or a family plan, but not on their own individual plan.
These kinds of individual plans are often popular with parents who either don't get coverage at all from their employer, or don't get coverage for dependents.
Facts on:
Individual Health Insurance for Children
Did you know...
Medical coverage prices for children with pre-existing conditions is available, but not inexpensive.
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The solution has involved some give and take between Health and Human Services Department and insurance companies. In the year 2014 medical coverage will theoretically become available at lower rates to all Americans via state-run insurance pools. At this time parents will be able to get coverage for their kids at a more affordable rate.
But until then, while insurance companies must still agree to offer coverage to all children, they will be allowed to base their rates on the health of the child.
This could lead to very expensive rates for parents of sick children, and could lead to a lack of coverage for this very vulnerable demographic until the rest of the
healthcare bill takes effect in 3 years.
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