Florida health insurance KidCare
Reader question:
I live in Florida and I need Florida health insurance for my three children. How do I know if I qualify?
Annie
Glad you asked, Annie.
All states offer Medicaid, but there are many people who don’t qualify for it, but at the same time are unable to afford regular private medical health insurance. One way to get the children of these people covered by child health insurance is to apply for the Florida health insurance KidCare program, which does have income requirements, but is for the next income level up of people who don’t qualify for Medicaid.
There are several requirements that need to be met by a child before they can be provided with Florida health insurance in the KidCare plan.
- Age. For a child to get Florida health insurance via KidCare, they have to be less than nineteen years old. This applies even if the kid is still a dependent of their parents or attending college. Coverage ends at nineteen.
- Lack insurance. It’s not possible, if a child is covered by their parent’s employer Florida health insurance, to qualify for KidCare, even if the coverage they have is limited. A child must not have any other health insurance in order to get KidCare Florida health insurance.
- Income level. There is a certain top level of income under which the parents’ level of income must be before their child can qualify for KidCare Florida health insurance. This is more than the requirement for Medicaid.
- Citizenship. The applicant does not absolutely have to be a citizen of the United States, but if they are not, then they must fall into a certain category of non citizens in order to be eligible for health insurance through the state.
- Cannot be the child of someone who works for the state and is able to get health insurance through the state.
- Is not in a public institution.
These many requirements do leave many people out in terms of being able to afford Florida health insurance for their children, but it does a good job, for the most part, of covering the gap between those who can get Medicaid and those who can pay for their own medical health insurance.
Cheers,
Fashun Guadarrama.
Student health insurance is important
If you’re a student, student health insurance should be near the top of your list of priorities. You’re away from home and probably aren’t depending on the parents as much anymore, and without that place on your family’s health insurance policy, a student health insurance plan is the only way to insure that you are taken care of so that you don’t end up slouching under the weight of medical debt for the rest of your life. You want to get that good job and live good after college, not be worrying about the thousands and thousands of dollars in medical costs even after you pay off your student loans.
But the strange truth is that college students, even ones studying medicine, are opting out of student health insurance. The widely held belief seems to be that the university clinic is an okay way to take care of your medical needs. It isn’t. Student health clinics are sub standard and don’t see to your needs. If you want real coverage an protection, you need to get student health insurance.
Different insurance companies will give you different quotes on your student health insurance premium. Because of this, the most important step in taking out a student health insurance policy is to shop around. That means finding quotes from different companies and comparing. There are plenty of sites on the internet that provide you with free quotes, and it’s very easy to do the research.
Once you have these quotes, you’ll be able to narrow it down to a list and talk to your insurance companies personally. Here are a few questions that you should ask:
- What is the maximum that I am covered for?
- Do I have to get a referral if I want to see a specialist?
- Is the student health insurance policy for both undergaduates and graduate students?
- Do I get to choose my own doctor? From a list, or freely?
- What does it cost?
- How high is the deductible?
- Am I covered to go see a doctor when I am not sick or injured?
- Am I covered while traveling?
These are important questions to ask, but if you think of more, go ahead by all means. Anything that you can do to help you narrow it down.
The deductible is a really important aspect. If you get a higher one, you’ll get cheap health insurance rates. But if you do end up opting for a higher one, consider that it should be something you’ll be able to afford. If you’re a medical student, you could get some professional courtesy, which will make things cheaper but won’t apply to deductibles.
Cheers,
Fashun Guadarrama