Get Health Insurance for Your Children

Here are the main options available to you if you’re a parent looking to obtain health insurance for one or more of your children.

The specifics may differ based on your employment situation and the state you live. But in general, there are only a handful of choices available for obtaining health insurance for one or more children.

Most people gain access to this kind of coverage through an employer. But many others purchase private plans (usually via the government’s health insurance “marketplace”), Medicaid, or the Children’s Health Insurance Program.

Which of these paths will be the best one for you and your child or children to take? That depends on quite a few different factors, too, though the information that follows should help to clarify matters at least a bit.

Employer-Based Health Insurance

If you’re like the average American, the most efficient way for you to secure health insurance for your children is to do so via a job. This is how most Americans get health insurance, according to a Gallup and the U.S. Census Bureau.

That said, business owners aren’t offering health insurance to their employees as often as they have in the past. Plus,many Americans are unable to access health insurance this way. They must use other avenues.

If employment-based health insurance is made available to you, it’s very likely to be the most cost-effective way for you to secure coverage for your child or children. Plus, if it’s considered by the federal government to be “affordable” and you can't turn it down. Should you refuse it, you won’t get the tax credits or savings when you shop for a plan in the marketplace or one of the exchanges.

Other Private Health Insurance Plans

Should attaining health insurance for your children through a job prove to be an impossible task for whatever reason, you can always turn to private plans of various sorts.

Usually, this will mean using the federal health insurance marketplace or one of the state exchanges, but that’s not always the case.

For example, if you fail to procure a plan during the open enrollment periods that are tied to the marketplace and exchanges, your only option is to qualify for a special enrollment period. Otherwise you'll have pick up this type of insurance elsewhere.

A few words of warning: qualifying for a special enrollment period is likely to be a better bet for most parents than acquiring coverage elsewhere.

That’s because buying a plan outside of open enrollment and outside of the marketplace with “minimal essential coverage” is hard. (Thankfully, the insurance companies selling these plans will be able to tell you if a particular one reaches this threshold. A plan’s summary of benefits and coverage will include this information, too.)

If you decide to purchase an exchange plan, read, “Everything You Need to Know to Apply for Health Insurance.”

Find the best health insurance coverage for your child.

Get peace of mind by comparing health insurance plans.

An Introduction to Medicaid and CHIP

And what are you supposed to do if neither employer-based nor marketplace plans are a possibility? Checking to see if you and your kids qualify for either Medicaid or Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) coverage would be a good start.

Together, these programs, both of which are run jointly by federal and state governments, help protect a lot of low-income children. In fact, according to a recent report from the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation, they combine to provide health insurance to more than one in three American youths. (Specifically, more than 28 million children were found to be enrolled in Medicaid as of 2013, while nearly 6 million were enrolled in CHIP during the same time frame.)

CHIP and Medicaid have been very successful. The portion of uninsured children in this country dropped from 14 percent to 7 percent between 1997 and 2012.

Despite this, the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation says that more than seven million children in the U.S. are still without health insurance. And over five million of them are eligible for either Medicaid or CHIP assistance.

That last statistic is especially sad, as no enrollment periods are attached to either of these programs. Parents can enroll their children at any point in a given year. And very little guesswork is required when it comes time to apply for them. Someone with HealthCare.gov will tell you which one you qualify for based on the size of your household, your income, and other factors like age and disability, after you enroll.

Similarities and Differences Between CHIP and Medicaid

Although it’s true that CHIP and Medicaid differ in a number of ways, to most Americans they’re going to seem pretty similar.

Take the benefits that tend to come along with gaining access to these programs. Both CHIP and Medicaid provide enrolled children with a comprehensive set of healthcare services including:

Dentist
Doctor,
Hospital visits (including check-ups, immunizations, and prescriptions)
Vision care
Mental health care
Various types of therapy (all CHIP programs cover physical, occupational, as well as speech and language therapies)

Sadly, not all states provide the same quality or quantity of benefits to their Medicaid or CHIP recipients. Sure, the federal government sets the guidelines for these programs. But individual states are allowed some amount of flexibility in administering and designing them. This results in benefits packages that can vary quite a bit from state to state.

“People should be aware that there are restrictions on some of the benefits,” says Gail Cavanaugh, an agent with Columbia, South Carolina-based Colonial Life. “For instance, if they need eyeglasses, they may have a choice of one or two ophthalmologists and opticians in their town. They may not have a choice as to frames when being fitted for eyeglasses.”

Families enrolled in Medicaid and CHIP can run into issues with dental care, too, depending on which state they call home. Some programs only cover extractions and exams, Cavanaugh says. But others are limited or restricted. It's makes it so people to “have to attend a dental clinic which treats patients with no dental coverage and offers a sliding fee scale.”

Even more differences can be seen when you look at how children become eligible for these programs. CHIP covers children and teens up to age 19 who find themselves above Medicaid income eligibility thresholds. For children younger than six this is up to 133 percent of the Federal Poverty Level. For FPL, it's $29,700 for a family of four in 2011, according to medicaid.gov. And for children six and older it's up to 100 percent of the FPL. It was 22,350 for a family of four in 2011.

In most states, this means that children up to age 19 whose parents make up to $48,500 per year (for a family of four), and sometimes more, can qualify for one of these programs.

Medicaid, on the other hand, covers youths up to age 21, in most circumstances, although that number jumps to 26 for young adults who have “aged out” of foster care.

States are given flexibility to design these programs. So the eligibility rules tied to them also can differ a lot depending on where you live.

If you live in Texas the thresholds are 100 percent of the FPL for Medicaid. They're 200 percent for CHIP, says to Carolyn Goodwin, CBC, SGS, principal at Goodwin Benefits Group in Dallas.

“Income is tested along with the family size, so the numbers are different for a family of four than they are for a family of eight,” Goodwin says. She added that for these purposes, family members include “custodial parents and any non-adult siblings living in the household” and do not include in-laws, uncles, aunts, or cousins.

The Costs Associated with Medicaid and CHIP Coverage

It’s difficult to say how CHIP and Medicaid differ when it comes to how much parents are charged. That's because this component of the programs varies depending on so many factors.

What can be said is that some children will be able to make use of some services for free. But others will be asked to make low copayments, enrollment fees, or even monthly premiums for health care.

A Primer on Applying for Marketplace, Medicaid, or CHIP Plans

If you want health insurance for your children via the “exchanges,” you’ll usually have to do so during open enrollment. This period” tends to cover the last two months of one year and the first month of the next. (The open enrollment period for next year will last from Nov. 1 of this year through Dec. 15 of 2018.)

Otherwise, you’ll only be able to purchase an exchange or marketplace plan by qualifying for a “special enrollment period.” This means proving you lost coverage. Or you couldn't take advantage of the open enrollment period because of “life events.

(Note: to see if you’re eligible coverage, go to See if you can get 2015 health coverage.)

You can apply for CHP or Medicaid for your children any time of year. Just go directly to your state Medicaid agency or by filling out a Marketplace application at healthcare.gov.

There's one aspect of the CHIP and Medicaid online application process that’s sure to appeal to a lot of potential enrollees. “The system will tell them whether or not they are eligible for [either program] based on their income,” Cavanaugh says. “If they do not qualify, a plan is recommended from the many health insurance carriers who are authorized to provide insurance for the state.”

To apply in our state, the applicant must provide documentation of immigration status (not the parents’, but the child’s). That would include a birth certificate if born outside the state or proof of legal immigration, current visa or certification of legal residency. There is also an income test, 100% of FPL for Medicaid and 200% for CHIP.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: Can my children still qualify for Medicaid or CHIP if I have a job?

A: Yes, as long as your income is below the eligibility thresholds that have been established for these programs in your state.

Q: What happens if my child is eligible for Medicaid or CHIP but I’d prefer to buy a plan through the exchange instead?

A: In that case, you likely wouldn’t be able to take advantage of any tax credits or other forms of savings that otherwise might be made available to you because of your income.

Q: Am I only allowed to apply for Medicaid or CHIP coverage at certain times of year?

A: No, you can sign up your children in either of these programs at any time, as there are no enrollment periods associated with them like there are with marketplace or exchange plans.

Q: How can I apply for CHIP or Medicaid plans?

A: The easiest method may be to use the online application that can be accessed at healthcare.gov, although you also can apply by phone (call 1-877-543-7669), by mail, or even in person.

Q: Do I have to renew my kids’ Medicaid or CHIP coverage? If so, how do I do that

A: You do have to renew it, but the good news here is that whichever program your children are enrolled in will let you know when it’s time to renew their coverage.

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Health Insurance for Children