Providing quality affordable Health Insurance for children has become a national mission and resulted in many of the new provisions under the Affordable Care Act that Congress recently passed. But even prior to the Affordable Care Act the United States implemented the Medicaid program to federally fund state health insurance programs starting in 1965. The goal of Medicaid is to provide quality affordable health insurance for children living at or below the poverty line.
While Medicaid may be the most popular and well known program, many states offer additional health and wellness programs for children and mothers with children. By contacting the health and human services department in your state you can find out which programs are available for children and determine what the qualifications are based off your current income level. Unfortunately, the income level at which to qualify for Medicaid is often so low that it only helps the poorest of the poor receive the most minimal of treatment.
Many families find themselves in the position of being unable to afford even minimal health insurance because they don't earn enough but unfortunately they make too much to qualify for federally funded Medicaid. However, the recently passed Affordable Care Act has made it possible for many families who were unable to purchase standard health insurance before to now, or in the near future, purchase insurance through state health insurance pools which aim to provide more affordable Health Insurance coverage.
Even though community outreach programs and local neighborhood health clinics can provide at least minimal care should a child come down with a fever or a cough, finding affordable health insurance should be a top priority for families. Emergency room care is not an optimal long-term solution for quality health insurance coverage as medical bills can the pile up quickly even for minor bumps and bruises.