Connecticut Health Insurance for Children

Many are aware of Connecticut's affordable Charter Oak Health Plan for residents, but not everyone knows about their special plan for children called Healthcare for Uninsured Kids and Youth (HUSKY).

Connecticut's HUSKY plan offers a full health insurance plan option for youth up to age 19 regardless of their family's income. HUSKY pays for physician visits, drug prescriptions, vision, dental care and much more. The HUSKY Plus plan has additional services for kids with special needs and the Connecticut Behavioral Health Partnership offers mental health and substance abuse treatment.

If you enroll your child in HUSKY, you'll be able to choose your physician, and other participating medical providers. For many families HUSKY is very low cost and often times free. Even families with high incomes can get HUSKY health care at group rates.

HUSKY serves over 241,000 children and they work hard to serve deserving families. They provide health coverage for parents, relative caregivers, and pregnant women as well. They pride themselves on very friendly customer service and are available to answer any questions you may have. More states should have a plan as comprehensive as this for resident children.

La CHIP Offers Low-Cost Health Insurance

La CHIP stands for Louisiana Children's Health Insurance and it's offering low-cost, and sometimes no-cost health insurance coverage for the children of Louisiana. They have been holding news conferences to raise awareness and encourage eligible children to get covered through La CHIP.

Children who are up to the age of 19 and live in Louisiana may qualify. The program covers well child visits, immunizations, doctor visits, hospitalization, prescription medicines and more. For the families that do not qualify for La CHIP because their income is too high there is an alternative called La CHIP Affordable Plan. This plan has similar eligibility requirements but families are able to make more money and still qualify. They can make up to 250% of the federal poverty level.

Obama Plans to Approve Children’s Health Insurance Funding Increase

President Barack Obama is doing an awful lot in his first 100 days: he is soon expected to sign into law a bill presented by the U.S. House soon after he takes office that will increase spending on government funded children's health insurance plans. The SCHIP bill was ratified by Democrats in both the House of Representatives and the Senate, but was vetoed by former President George W. Bush last year.

The bill would essentially add 4 million children to the existing roll of 7 million who are already receiving government subsidized health insurance. The bill proposes that increased taxes on tobacco will cover the $32 billion it will cost to expand the health coverage. Some Republicans believe this is an unfair burden on smokers.

Under the proposed bill, states are now given the option of eliminating the 5 year waiting period on providing government funded health insurance coverage to legal immigrants as well as pregnant immigrants.

A proposal unveiled Wednesday by the health insurance industry would provide universal health coverage and hack away at medical costs through an outside group, and it has seen initial praise from an unlikely source.

The proposal, offered by the America's Health Insurance Plans, or AHIP, trade group, comes on the heels of a universal health care proposal offered by Senate Finance Chairman Max Baucus, D-Mont., as well as pledges by Sen. Ted Kennedy, D- Mass., to move quickly on the issue in 2009.

The keystone of the AHIP proposal is a goal to reduce growth in health care expenses throughout the U.S. market by 30% - a target Ignagni said would reduce health care costs by more than $500 billion from 2010 to 2014.

AHIP's plan won a positive remarks from Kennedy, who figures to play a large role in the debate next year as chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee.
"There's a spirit of optimism about our work to ensure quality, affordable health care for all Americans - and today's announcement adds to that optimism," Kennedy said in a statement. "The insurance industry has advanced serious proposals that deserve serious analysis and consideration."

The proposal represents an opening salvo for insurers, who have by and large agreed that universal coverage is necessary, in the health reform debate. Importantly, their proposal builds on the employer-based health coverage system - an approach favored by President-elect Barack Obama and Sen. Baucus.

"We're trying to have early input into what I'm sure will be a process of many elements and compromises," AHIP President Karen Ignagni said Wednesday.
Large insurers in the AHIP trade group include Aetna Inc. (AET), Humana Inc. ( HUM), Wellpoint Inc. (WLP) and Cigna Corp. (CI) and UnitedHealth Group.

The AHIP proposal suggests that Congress set a five-year cost goal and that a "public-private advisory group" would do the work of finding ways to cut spending.

Not surprisingly, the plan doesn't supplant the role of private insurers by including single-payer elements. For those earning less than 400% of the federal poverty level, the plan would offer "refundable, advanceable tax credits" to buy private insurance.

Ignagni said Wednesday that, unlike Baucus' proposal, the insurers' proposal wouldn't require that individuals buy insurance. She cited "the economic disruption in the country and hearing very specifically not only from large businesses but small businesses" as the primary reason for not including such a mandate.

"We didn't think that now was the time to recommend an employer mandate," Ignagni said.
Other elements of the AHIP plan would create an "essential benefits plan" for individuals and small business to purchase high-deductible insurance for wellness and prevention as well as acute care, as well as expansion of the state children's health insurance program, or SCHIP, and a streamlining of Medicaid, the federal government's health-coverage program for people below the federal poverty level.

By Patrick Yoest, Dow Jones Newswires

How Children Fare in the Health Care Debate

A report has detailed how children are treated in the health care plans of Senators John McCain and Barack Obama. The report identifies both opportunities and concerns with the policy changes outlined by both candidates, with an eye toward whether the plans would ensure access to comprehensive and affordable health care insurance for every American child.

The report takes into consideration the unique health care needs of children when analyzing the impacts of tax credits, purchasing private insurance across state lines, covering children through a mandate, and how public programs interact with private sector coverage.

The report concludes the following regarding Senator McCain's plan:

-- The McCain tax credit will weaken families' ability to afford coverage for children, as it is insufficient to make coverage affordable and does not keep pace with growth in the cost of health care premiums. Specifically, the tax credit fails to adjust for family size and the added cost when children are born or adopted. Therefore, the credit provides assistance for a significantly smaller share of health care costs for families with children than for childless households.
-- The 19 million children with special health care needs currently insured though employer coverage may be barred from insurance due to pre-existing conditions. Children who need insurance most, those who are sick today, could be charged much more for insurance, if they are
offered insurance coverage at all.
-- By allowing insurance to be sold across state lines, millions of children will lose the protection of having guaranteed benefits. In fact, it is estimated that up to 55 million children could lose the
protection for mandated coverage for well care visits, 18 million could lose autism care, and 16 million children could lose lead poisoning treatment.
-- Funding for public insurance programs for low-income children could be reduced, through McCain's proposed reductions in Medicaid spending.


The report also concludes the following with regard to Senator Obama's plan:
-- The plan seeks to ensure that all of the more than 8 million children currently without health insurance will become insured throughcombination of public and private coverage options and by requiring parents to enroll their children in coverage.
-- Successful public programs will be expanded and strengthened to provide coverage to more children. The Obama plan would continue and expand Medicaid and State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP), critical programs that act as safety-net coverage for children.
-- Tens of millions of children will benefit from improved consumer protections in the private health insurance market.

The report can be viewed at http://www.firstfocus.net/pages/3519/.

Children's Health Reform

According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, more than 9 million children are uninsured in the United States. Six and a half million of these children live in families with household incomes below 200% of the federal poverty level and are eligible for Medicaid or SCHIP, but are not enrolled.

Typically, a child's health care needs center around simple preventative care such as immunizations and regular check-ups to ensure proper growth and development. Research shows early intervention makes a measurable improvement in the future health of these children.

Most if not all states have state funded programs to assist low income families to insure their children and give them the best shot to live healthy lives.

Children's Health Insurance Programs