Category Archives: Health Insurance

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How Do I Get Health Insurance for my Child?

people, family, love and harmony concept - happy mother and daugOne question that I get asked periodically is, “How do I get health insurance for my kids?” This particularly comes up during pregnancy when parents start thinking ahead to the birth of their baby.

Getting health insurance for your kids doesn’t need to be complicated. You will usually go to your own health insurance company and add them to your plan.

If you receive your health insurance through your employer, you can go to your human resources department and add the child to the health plan when the child is born. If you are receiving health insurance from another carrier, you will contact the company directly to add your child to your health plan.

If you don’t have insurance (remember: under current regulations, everyone should) or can’t insure your child on your plan, the next place to look is Medicaid. Medicaid offers a Children’s Health Insurance Program, aptly named CHIP. It offers early and periodic screening, diagnostic, and treatment, just as other health plans do.

There are income restrictions for CHIP, however, so if your income doesn’t qualify you, then you’ll want to go through the health exchange (that is, Obamacare) to get your kids insured.

One standard that Obamacare brought with it, which now applies to most health plans, is that parents can keep their children on their health plan until the age of 26, as long as the child is enrolled in school.

This has made it easier to ensure that children have health insurance.

As you would for your own health plan, shop around to find the best solution for your family. Make sure your children have a health plan that covers their specific needs.

Want to know more about choosing health plans? Get my ebook set Easy Healthcare: Set Two. It included Choosing Your Health Insurance, and Obamacare, as wells as What You Need First. It is available in all major ebook formats. Get it here.

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What Every Mother Needs To Know About Breastfeeding

Mother And Newborn Baby In White NurseryAs a single mother raising two girls, breastfeeding was quite the task. I faced challenges that I believe many mothers do in trying to balance breast feeding and being a working mom. There are many aspects of breast feeding that I learned simply through trial and error. Many however, I wish I had known earlier in motherhood. In sharing my experience with you, I hope to assist you in navigating through the every day breast feeding challenges.

In this short video, I discuss my experience and how to go about choosing what is personally best for you and your child.

Here are a few additional tips about breast feeding that you may not have known:

  • Breastfeeding equipment, counseling for pregnant and nursing women, and certified lactation consultants are now covered as preventive care under the Affordable Care Act.
  • Under the Patient Protection and the ACA, the federal law requires employers to give break time and a place (other than a bathroom) to express breast milk at work.
  • Breastfeeding lowers your risk of some cancers, diabetes and heart disease.
  • Breast milk contains antibodies that help your child fight off viruses and bacteria.
  • Breastfeeding lowers your baby’s risks of having asthma or allergies.

I’d love to hear about your own experience with breastfeeding. Please leave a comment on Facebook or Instagram.

Tune in to our weekly live health care discussions by following us on Periscope at MyHealthSpin.

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My Insurance Doesn’t Include Dental. Now What?

 

woman at dentist have teeth examinedWe had another successful webinar yesterday. I can’t believe it was our third one! I’m getting into a rhythm and having fun sharing healthcare tips with you in this way. I hope you are enjoying it, too.

Yesterday I had the opportunity to answer your questions. Thank you so much to those of you who sent your questions in. There were some great ones!

One of the questions I received was “What if my medical insurance doesn’t include dental?”

This is the case sometimes. Often dental insurance is provided separately from medical insurance, possibly through a different provider altogether.

First, check with your employer to make sure. Maybe dental coverage is available to you and you didn’t realize it or didn’t fill out the paperwork for it when you were hired. If it is an option, go ahead and sign up.

If your employer doesn’t offer dental insurance, look for a stand-alone dental plan. You can find these from a variety of providers.

Before you sign up, though, consider your dental care needs.

Are your teeth generally in good shape? Is your primary reason for visiting the dentist to get your routine cleaning? If so, compare the costs of the dental insurance to the costs of a dental visit if you were to pay fully out-of-pocket. You may find that dental insurance isn’t worth the cost if all you plan to use it for are twice-per-year cleanings.

If you tend to have more dental needs–like a history of cavities, root canals, crowns, and so on–then you’ll probably want to invest in a dental insurance plan that will help offset some of this pricier work.

Thank you to one of our readers for submitting that great question.