Need Insurance for Kids in North Dakota
I am a single mother with three children and I can’t afford to put them on my company health insurance. Their dad is supposed to pay for their health insurance, but he usually forgets to send me the money and I have to pay it. He did not send the money for the last 3 months and I can’t make the payment to the insurance company, so they are going to lose their coverage. What can I do?
There may be options available through the Children’s Health Insurance Program (if available) in your state. We can provide you with the eligibility requirements for your state, but we first need to know in which state you reside. The fact that the children currently have health insurance might be an issue.
We live in North Dakota. I am not sure the kids even still have insurance because I did not make the payment on the insurance for December. If I had to pay for the insurance I would not be able to give my kids a Christmas this year.
Comment by Linda — December 18, 2006 @ 9:38 am
North Dakota does have a Children’s Health Insurance Program called Healthy Steps. To be eligible for this program, children must be under the age of 18, reside in the state of North Dakota, and not have other health insurance or qualify for Medicaid. The income requirements for Medicaid are lower than the Healthy Steps program, so more families qualify for Healthy Steps. The problem here is the current insurance coverage. Since you are not 30 days late on your premium payment, the coverage is probably still active. You will need to call the insurance company to verify this. For a family size of 4, the qualifying monthly net income level is $2,147. This is after subtracting child care costs and payroll taxes. This is greater than the Medicaid level and is based on 140% of the federal poverty level. You need to contact Healthy Steps at 1-800-755-2604 and ask how they will handle the issued with the current health insurance. It is not clear on their website how long a child must be without health insurance before they can qualify for enrollment on this program.
Comment by admin — December 18, 2006 @ 9:39 am