Health insurance for baby

jillas1105 · July 2014

Has anyone looked into getingt an individual health insurance plan for their baby? What are the best options? If I add the baby to my insurance it will cost $500 a month- yikes! My husband is self employed & his plan will not allow him to add baby.

Leysin97 · July 2014

I am getting it through work and it's either around $400 or $150 to add baby depending on low deductible or high deductible plan. I would check out the healthcare marketplace to check prices. That might be a starting point. Whether you qualify for a discounted rate or not depends on your income but it can give you an idea of rates even if you are not discounted.

AmandaJean12 · July 2014

We are self employed, and adding the baby to ours is like $300+ a month. I didn't look at getting her a separate one though... Maybe not a bad idea

atraveller · July 2014

I'm planning on child health plus. I'm self employed and husband works for a small business that doesn't provide coverage. The child health plus can be gotten by anyone (supposedly) not just low income folks - you just pay full premium versus discounted premium - don't know the full premium amt. now through marketplace but when I inquired a few months ago it was lower than anything else I'd looked into. Also, once it is paid - no copays at all - and includes dental. One person I spoke to said its the best kept secret in child healthcare.

bumpuser10309732 · July 2014

Wow! Have you checked out ehealthinsurance.com? You put in LO's info and it gives you a range of options with different companies and you can compare the policies. It shows you all the important points. I've done that multiple times for myself and DH.

Maggie6424 · July 2014

So I tried to do this after DS1 was born because my employer was charging me like $200 a month to add him. They told me that most places won't allow a "child only" policy. I was like WTF?? They said that the ones that did would only allow you to obtain it IF you lost your insurance through an employer and the few others required you create the policy before baby was 1 month old. BCBS was really shitty to me when I called. Just to give you an idea, it's $500 a month if I add a kiddo to my plan at work.

tucker1384 · July 2014

I live in PA they have CHIP....I don't know the details but I know any child under the age of 18 can get the insurance and the premium goes off of household income.

atraveller · July 2014

Maggie6424 - it may have changed now - as with the exchanges, there are now solo plans for all members of the family. Just fyi.

staryb · July 2014

@tucker1384, I also live in PA and have been looking into CHIP. Here's a link to the income guidelines for you and anyone else in PA.

https://www.chipcoverspakids.com/assets/media/pdf/chip_income_chart_2013.pdf

vrj0522 · July 2014

Some states won't allow child-only policies so that's something to look into first.

Maggie6424 · July 2014

atraveller said:

Maggie6424 - it may have changed now - as with the exchanges, there are now solo plans for all members of the family. Just fyi.

Ooh, I didn't think of that. We (unfortunately and fortunately) qualify for CHP+ which is a step above Medicaid. We pay co-pays and for prescriptions. I wish we made enough that we don't need it, but with DH being a SAHD, we barely make ends meet as is. We will be moving back to Kansas next year, so we'll be doing a private family plan. I'm sure it'll cost a pretty penny for 2 adults and 2 kiddos.

atraveller · July 2014

Maggie6424 said:

atraveller said:

Maggie6424 - it may have changed now - as with the exchanges, there are now solo plans for all members of the family. Just fyi.

Ooh, I didn't think of that. We (unfortunately and fortunately) qualify for CHP+ which is a step above Medicaid. We pay co-pays and for prescriptions. I wish we made enough that we don't need it, but with DH being a SAHD, we barely make ends meet as is. We will be moving back to Kansas next year, so we'll be doing a private family plan. I'm sure it'll cost a pretty penny for 2 adults and 2 kiddos.

I understand Maggie - we all do what we have to do. I actually heard Child Health Plus is really good insurance - maybe I heard wrong? I was told it's no copays once premiums are paid - and that anyone can use it - just if your income is above a certain level, you pay full premiums. I was told it was the best kept secret in child healthcare because it covers everything but is less expensive, even if you pay full premiums and is just seen as not as good because grouped in with medicaid. Did I hear incorrectly? Are you using CHP+ now? And if you do a private plan through the exchanges you may qualify for subsidies.

Maggie6424 · July 2014

atraveller said:

Maggie6424 said:

I understand Maggie - we all do what we have to do. I actually heard Child Health Plus is really good insurance - maybe I heard wrong? I was told it's no copays once premiums are paid - and that anyone can use it - just if your income is above a certain level, you pay full premiums. I was told it was the best kept secret in child healthcare because it covers everything but is less expensive, even if you pay full premiums and is just seen as not as good because grouped in with medicaid. Did I hear incorrectly? Are you using CHP+ now? And if you do a private plan through the exchanges you may qualify for subsidies.

It's decent, but we do have copays. They're completely affordable. DS1 is on it now. In Colorado it's based on income. I'm not sure if you can get on it no matter your income. In CO, it is grouped with Medicaid.

Ivorytower2 · July 2014

I'm in te exact same situation. I'd start at the Obamacare website and that will take you to options for you in your state. I'm in California, and I don't qualify for any of the subsidized plans, but a really good plan through Covered California is only $180 per month vs the $500 my employer would charge me to add LO to my plan.

atraveller · July 2014

Maggie6424 said:

atraveller said:

Maggie6424 said:

I understand Maggie - we all do what we have to do. I actually heard Child Health Plus is really good insurance - maybe I heard wrong? I was told it's no copays once premiums are paid - and that anyone can use it - just if your income is above a certain level, you pay full premiums. I was told it was the best kept secret in child healthcare because it covers everything but is less expensive, even if you pay full premiums and is just seen as not as good because grouped in with medicaid. Did I hear incorrectly? Are you using CHP+ now? And if you do a private plan through the exchanges you may qualify for subsidies.

It's decent, but we do have copays. They're completely affordable. DS1 is on it now. In Colorado it's based on income. I'm not sure if you can get on it no matter your income. In CO, it is grouped with Medicaid.

Interesting - I'm in NY, so may be different, at least based on what I was told. Going to have to call the exchange and get the facts before I sign up. Thanks for the heads up.

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