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.

Healthy Indiana Plan Offering POWER Account

Health Indiana Plan offers many benefits, one of which is called a POWER account. This is an account valued at $1,100 per adult to pay for medical expenses. The State of Indiana makes contributions to the account and each participant, based on a sliding scale, receives the benefit. No one will pay more than 5% of their gross annual family income, and many will pay less.

This plan also offers a basic commercial benefits option once the yearly medical expenses go over the $1,100. Coverage for preventative services is available for up to $500/year at no additional cost for members. Once the $500 limit is reached, preventative care is covered, but the POWER account would be used when necessary.

As with most types of plans, co-pays are required for all emergency care, but that would be the only service that has a co-pay. And even in the case of an emergency the co-pay would be returned if it is determined the service was a true emergency. The Healthy Indiana Plan does not currently cover dental, vision, or maternity care.

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.

Children's Health Insurance Programs

Last Saturday, President George W Bush finally got the bill he wanted and signed legislation to extend the children's health insurance program. The signing was buried in the back pages of newspapers so you might not have read about it.

The president and a majority of Congress waged a political war over expanding the health insurance program to cover millions of children nationally who remain uninsured. After twice vetoing bipartisan bills to expand the program, President Bush prevailed with legislation that extends health insurance coverage with a small boost in funding through March 2009.

State Children's Health Insurance Program

Senate Democratic leaders have unveiled plans to dramatically expand taxpayer-funded health insurance to millions more children through the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP).

Eighteen governors have blamed the White House for weaknesses with the program in its budget by $10 to $15 billion.

Launched in 1997, SCHIP provides health insurance to more than six million enrollees, primarily children in lower-income families. Originally authorized to spend $40 billion over 10 years, the program is set to expire this year unless Congress approves new funding.

Senate Budget Chairman Kent Conrad this week said his plan would expand coverage to 8.3 million more uninsured children and boost spending by $50 billion over the next five years.

SCHIP funds are also used, often, to insure children who are not in low-income families. In New Jersey, for example, SCHIP covers children whose parents earn up to three-and-a-half times the poverty limit.

This misallocation of funds happens because the federal government gives states more money for those enrolled in SCHIP than for those covered by Medicaid, which is designed to provide health coverage to low-income Americans.

Many employer sponsored health insurance plans allow parents to pay extra to put their kids on their own policies. Some parents often can't afford it. This leaves the employer money on the table and means these kids are more likely to receive taxpayer-subsidized health insurance coverage.

Adults should not be eligible for Schip. Covering adults was never the intent of the program, and states that extend health coverage to adults are diverting funds from the needs of low-income children. Second, Schip should focus on America's poorest families. States need to meet the law's intent.

Finally, it must be easier for states to utilize Schip as a premium-support program. It is relatively inexpensive to add children to family policies, but by making the process so bureaucratic, employer-provided plans are underutilized and families are split into private and public coverage plans.

Lets see if they get it right this time.